Adolescents' perceived ability to say "no" to unwanted sex

Although violent sexual assaults occur in adolescence, lessfrequently recognized are the more subtle forms of sexual coercion. This investigation focused on adolescents'perceived ability to say no to pressures from a partner to engage in unwanted sex. With a sample of 2,472 10th-grade White, Hispanic, and Black adolescents, which adolescents may have had a more difficult time saying no to unwanted sex was examined. Results indicated that females were more likely than males to believe that they could say no to unwanted sex, but no consistent differences were found among the racial and ethnic groups. Multivariate analyses revealed several other predictors of the perceived ability to say no, including a less-permissive attitude toward sex, the low importance of peer influence and, for females, a generalized sense of self-efficacy. Implications of these results for intervention andfuture research are discussed.