Bacterial STDs and Perceived Risk Among Sexual Minority Young Adults

Because most sexual health interventions focus on the sexual risk behavior of heterosexuals, health practitioners lack information about the sexual health of sexual minority adults ages 18-26.

The authors of the current study assessed three indicators of sexual minority status - identity, behavior, and romantic attractions - in 10,986 young adults who took part in Wave 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (2001-02). Associations between these indicators and individuals’ perceived risk for STDs and actual STD infection were examined using logistic regression analyses. Data from the 1,154 respondents with current or recent bacterial STD infections were investigated to determine if they had underestimated their risk.

“Outcomes varied by sexual minority status indicator and by sex,” the authors found. For bisexual females, the odds of STDs were significantly higher than for heterosexual females (odds ratios=1.4), and females who reported being attracted to both sexes had significantly higher STD odds than those attracted to males only (1.8). None of the sexual minority status indicators predicted STDs for males. Among respondents with an STD, females who reported only same-sex relationships were more likely to think they were at very low risk for infection compared to females reporting only opposite-sex relationships (17.2). Homosexual females had a higher likelihood of this outcome than heterosexual females (19.7).

“Health practitioners need to assist sexual minority young adults, particularly females, in understanding their risk for STDs and in taking safer-sex precautions,” the authors concluded.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!