Original ArticlesRelationship between number of sexual intercourse partners and selected health risk behaviors among public high school adolescents
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.
References (19)
- et al.
Correlates of aggressive and violent behaviors among public high school adolescents
J Adolesc Health
(1995) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 1997
MMWR
(1998)Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 1993
MMWR
(1995)Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 1995
MMWR
(1996)- et al.
Adolescent risk behaviors and the potential for violenceA look at what’s coming to campus
J Am Coll Health
(1993) - et al.
Correlates of condom use and number of sexual partners among high school adolescents
J Sch Health
(1992) - et al.
Aggression, substance use and suicidal behavior among high school students
Am J Public Health
(1993) - et al.
Substance use and HIV-related sexual behaviors among US high school studentsAre they related?
Am J Public Health
(1994) - et al.
Correlates and consequences of early initiation of sexual intercourseImplications for school health
J Sch Health
(1994)