Original Articles
Relationship between number of sexual intercourse partners and selected health risk behaviors among public high school adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(99)00051-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the relationship between number of sexual partners and selected health risk behaviors in a statewide sample of public high school students.

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used to secure usable sexual risk-taking, substance use, and violence/aggression data from 3805 respondents. Because simple polychotomous logistic regression analysis revealed a significant Race × Gender interaction, subsequent multivariate models were constructed separately for each race–gender group. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals was calculated from polychotomous logistic regression models for number of sexual intercourse partners and their potential risk behavior correlates.

Results: An increased number of sexual intercourse partners were correlated with a cluster of risk behaviors that place adolescents at risk for unintended pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and other sexually transmitted infections. For Black females, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana use, and dating violence behaviors were the strongest predictors of an increased number of sexual partners; white females had similar predictors with the addition of physical fighting. For white males, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana use, physical fighting, carrying weapons, and dating violence were the strongest predictors of an increased number of sexual intercourse partners. Black males had similar predictors with the addition of binge alcohol use.

Conclusion: Prevention of adolescent sexual and other health risk behaviors calls for creative approaches in school and community settings and will require long-term intervention strategies focused on adolescent behavior changes and environmental modifications.

Section snippets

Sample

Data were collected during the 1993 academic year using the YRBS, developed, piloted, and deemed reliable by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (14). The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) focuses on six major areas of adolescent behaviors: those that result in intentional and unintentional injuries; tobacco use, alcohol, and other drug use; sexual behaviors; dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity (15). All students in Grades 9–12 in public high schools, other

Description of subjects

The total number of subjects who participated in the YBRS was 4232, however, only 3805 valid observations were available for this study. Owing to nonresponse by subjects to (a) the variables of interest, (b) out-of-range responses, (c) unclearly marked responses that could not be read, and excluding races other than Black or White [n = 188 (4.44%)]. A total of 1985 of the participants (52%) were female and 1820 (48%) were male. The study population consisted of 1506 Black students (40%) and

Discussion

Results suggest that a significant number of public high school students are engaging in sexual intercourse. Black males represent the race/gender subgroup with the largest percentage (88%) reporting having engaged in sexual intercourse. Black females reported the second largest percentage (70%) of having had at least one sexual partner, followed by White males, then White females (61% and 52%, respectively). For other than White males, these percentages closely resemble percentage results from

Implications

Although causality cannot be inferred from this cross-sectional study, the association between an increased number of sexual intercourse partners, violence, and aggression, and alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use suggests the need for multicomponent prevention programs addressing all these risk behaviors.

Careful questioning within an office visit or acute care clinic should be conducted to elicit a history of risk behavior. With an adolescent reporting current drug use, particularly marijuana,

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by Cooperative Agreement No. 63/CCU 802750-03, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Atlanta, Georgia; and a Cooperative Agreement with the South Carolina Department of Education, Columbia, South Carolina.

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