Turizam Volume 23, Issue 2-4
TOURISM, PERSONALITY, AND RISKY BEHAVIORS AMONG UKRAINIAN ADOLESCENTS
Authors: Nicholas Hryhorczuk, Alexander Zvinchuk, Zoreslava Shkiriak-Nyzhnyk,
Liudmyla Slobodchenko, Alla Matsola, Daniel Hryhorczuk
Abstract: The aim of this paper was to determine whether engagement in tourism is associated with risky
behaviors among Ukrainian adolescents. The study sample consisted of 1075 adolescents who
were enrolled in the “Family and Children of Ukraine” birth cohort study. They self reported
how they prefer to spend their leisure time as well as their smoking, drinking, and sexual
behaviors. The adolescents also completed the revised Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI).
Engagement in tourism was not associated with smoking or alcohol use. It was associated with
ever having had sexual relations (OR=1.63; p=0.022) and with having had recent sexual relations
(OR=1.67; p=0.037). These associations were stronger for males than females. Adolescents
who had ever had sexual relations and those who had recent sexual relations had significantly
higher extraversion scores on the EPI than adolescents who had not (18.16 vs 16.65; p=0.002
and 18.45 vs 16.72; p = 0.002, respectively). In multivariable analyses, ever having sexual relations
and having recent sexual relations were significantly associated with male gender, age,
and marginally associated with extraversion, but not with tourism. The authors conclude that
among Ukrainian adolescents, the association between engagement in tourism and sexual
behavior is mediated by personality, specifically higher extraversion.
Keywords:Tourism, Personality, Adolescents, Risky Behavior
Article info: 107-119
Received: February 2019 | Accepted: August 2019