隨著社會風氣的開放,青少年性活動及藥物濫用的比例逐年攀升,形成青少年身心健康的一大隱憂。過去的相關研究指出,青少年的藥物濫用對性活動具有直接的單向因果關係。然而有些學者卻持不同的看法,認爲青少年一些不可觀察的人格特性如風險偏好等,會同時影響其從事性活動及藥物濫用的行爲,造成二者呈現表面上的正向關聯,倘若控制難以觀察因素對兩者的影響後,則青少年的藥物濫用對性活動的影響效果將消失。本研究利用《民國89年台灣地區在校學生性知識態度與行爲研究調查》爲樣本,實證分析青少年藥物濫用對其性活動的影響。研究結果顯示,不論難以觀察的因素是否具有顯著的影響,男女青少年吸食藥物將顯著提高從事性行爲及危險性行爲(不避孕或曾與多人發生性關係)的機率。此結果隱含政府或教育單位取締青少年藥物濫用的政策,將連帶有效地降低青少年性活動的比例。
With Taiwan's society becoming increasingly open, there is a dramatic increase in the prevalence of sexual activity and drug abuse among adolescents. These are looming hazards threatening the youth's health and leading to social problems in Taiwan. Empirical evidence obtained in previous studies suggests the existence of an association between drug abuse and sexual activity for adolescents in western societies. However, a consensus has not been reached regarding the nature of this association. Some scholars suggest that the association arises from unobserved factors, which simultaneously affect both behaviors, and after controlling for these unobservable factors the association may disappear. This research uses data from The 2000 Study Survey of School Students' Sexual Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior in Taiwan to study the relationship between adolescent sexual activity and drug abuse. Our empirical analysis employs a simultaneous equation probit model, which takes into account the existence of unobservable factors affecting both behaviors. Our empirical results shows a positive causal effect of drug abuse on both the likelihood of engaging in sexual activity and of engaging in unsafe sex (i.e., unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners). This finding suggests that the government's anti-drug policies may have the beneficial side-effect of decreasing adolescend sex and unsafe sex.