Do Differences in Sexual Behaviors Account for the Racial/Ethnic Differences in Adolescents' Self-Reported History of a Sexually Transmitted Disease?

Background and Objectives: African-American adolescents have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) of any racial/ethnic group of adolescents. The objective of this study was to determine the degree to which racial/ethnic differences in sexual behaviors account for African-America...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sexually transmitted diseases 1998-03, Vol.25 (3), p.125-129
Main Authors: ELLEN, JONATHAN M., ARAL, SEVGI O., MADGER, LAURENCE S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis. Health state
Biological and medical sciences
Black or African American
Black People
Educational Status
Epidemiology
Female
General aspects
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Minority & ethnic groups
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Risk Factors
Sexual Behavior
Sexually transmitted diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases - ethnology
Sexually Transmitted Diseases - etiology
STD
Teenagers
White People
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Summary:Background and Objectives: African-American adolescents have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) of any racial/ethnic group of adolescents. The objective of this study was to determine the degree to which racial/ethnic differences in sexual behaviors account for African-American adolescents' higher rates of STDs. Study Design: A secondary analysis of data collected as part of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey supplement to the 1992 National Health Interview Survey was conducted. The sample included 5,189 nationally representative civilian noninstitutionalized sexually experienced United States adolescents 14 to 21 years of age. Results: The age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for a reported history of an STD for African-American adolescents was 3.86 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.57,9.50). The STD risk for African-American youth increased with the adjustment for other sociodemographic factors (OR = 4.13; CI = 1.71,9.99) and decreased with the adjustment for sexual behaviors (OR = 3.67; CI = 1.55, 8.66). Conclusions: Differences in sexual behaviors do not fully account for African-American adolescents' increased risk for STDs. Interventions designed to reduce sexual risk taking among African- American adolescents may not ameliorate racial/ethnic differences in rates of STDs.
ISSN:0148-5717
1537-4521
DOI:10.1097/00007435-199803000-00002