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Objectives <p>Although Catholicism is intertwined with Latine culture (Espinosa-Hernández et al., <CitationRef CitationID="CR12">2015</CitationRef>), minimal research examines how religiosity and sexual values influence Latine adolescent sexuality. Previous research (Calatrava et al., <CitationRef CitationID="CR3">2021</CitationRef>) indicates religiosity associates with sexual values, and these values relate to sexual behavior. This study validated a measure of sexual intentions in Mexican adolescents and investigated how sexual values (i.e., sexual guilt and importance of virginity) mediate the association between internal religiosity and the sexual intentions of Catholic adolescents in Mexico. We examined the moderating role of gender, given restrictive sexual values for females in Latine cultures (Deardorff et al., <CitationRef CitationID="CR8">2010</CitationRef>).</p> Methods <p>Catholic adolescents (<i>N</i> = 261; ages 12 to 19; <i>M</i> = 14.19, <i>SD</i> = 1.46) completed a survey assessing demographics, internal religiosity, sexual guilt, importance of virginity, and sexual intentions. We collected data at two middle/high schools in a Mexican city.</p> Results <p>The confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity of the sexual intentions measure. Sexual guilt, not importance of virginity, mediated the association between religiosity and sexual intentions with preliminary evidence suggesting gender-specific patterns. Internal religiosity was significantly associated with higher sexual guilt which in turn showed a preliminary, non-significant trend toward lower sexual intentions among female adolescents but not male adolescents.</p> Conclusions <p>Internalizing Catholicism may relate to stronger sexual guilt among Catholic adolescents, subsequently decreasing sexual intentions. Expanding sexuality research on diverse adolescents deepens understanding of both universal and culture-specific developmental experiences. This study contributes to the understanding of the role sexual values play in Catholic Latine adolescent sexual intentions.</p>

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Religiosity and Sexual Intentions Among Mexican Catholic Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Values

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月25日

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  • Noraan Mohamed,
  • Angel Hernandez Moran,
  • Jasmine Norman,
  • Graciela Espinosa-Hernandez,
  • John Hollander,
  • Caitlin Fountain

摘要

Objectives

Although Catholicism is intertwined with Latine culture (Espinosa-Hernández et al., 2015), minimal research examines how religiosity and sexual values influence Latine adolescent sexuality. Previous research (Calatrava et al., 2021) indicates religiosity associates with sexual values, and these values relate to sexual behavior. This study validated a measure of sexual intentions in Mexican adolescents and investigated how sexual values (i.e., sexual guilt and importance of virginity) mediate the association between internal religiosity and the sexual intentions of Catholic adolescents in Mexico. We examined the moderating role of gender, given restrictive sexual values for females in Latine cultures (Deardorff et al., 2010).

Methods

Catholic adolescents (N = 261; ages 12 to 19; M = 14.19, SD = 1.46) completed a survey assessing demographics, internal religiosity, sexual guilt, importance of virginity, and sexual intentions. We collected data at two middle/high schools in a Mexican city.

Results

The confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity of the sexual intentions measure. Sexual guilt, not importance of virginity, mediated the association between religiosity and sexual intentions with preliminary evidence suggesting gender-specific patterns. Internal religiosity was significantly associated with higher sexual guilt which in turn showed a preliminary, non-significant trend toward lower sexual intentions among female adolescents but not male adolescents.

Conclusions

Internalizing Catholicism may relate to stronger sexual guilt among Catholic adolescents, subsequently decreasing sexual intentions. Expanding sexuality research on diverse adolescents deepens understanding of both universal and culture-specific developmental experiences. This study contributes to the understanding of the role sexual values play in Catholic Latine adolescent sexual intentions.