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Carol Roye, EdD, CPNP, Hunter College - City University of New York, 209 Bear Ridge Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570, 212-481-4332, croye1@earthlink.net, Paula L Perlmutter, MPH, Hunter College - Center on AIDS, Drugs, and Community Health, 39 Donna Road, Framingham, MA 01701, and Beatrice Krauss, PhD, Hunter College Center on AIDS, Drugs, and Community Health, 425 East 25th street 8th floor, New York, NY 10010.
Background: Young women of color represent a growing population of HIV/AIDS patients. Yet, anal intercourse, a behavior that confers a very high risk of HIV transmission, has scarcely been studied in heterosexual adolescents.
Methods: Data were collected at Planned Parenthood Centers in New York City, during intake assessment for a randomized clinical trial of HIV-prevention interventions. Subjects were 15 – 21 year-old Black and Latina female adolescents who use hormonal contraceptives (N = 331). Sexual risk questions were adapted from the CDC’s Project RESPECT. Subjects completed the questionnaire using a Computer Administered Self Interview with Audio (ACASI).
Results: More than 1/3 (41%) of the teens had engaged in anal intercourse. Only 30% of those who reported anal intercourse reported using a condom during their last anal intercourse. In addition, condom use during vaginal intercourse was significantly lower among teens who had ever had anal intercourse, using a test of significance of difference between proportions (Z=2.26 [p=.012]). In addition, significantly more Latina than Black teens had had anal intercourse, (Z=3.59 [p<.001). The reported age at first anal intercourse ranged from 12 – 21 years, with a mean of 16.8.
Recommendations: More data are needed about the prevalence and context of adolescent heterosexual anal intercourse. Researchers have believed that women engaged in heterosexual anal intercourse to prevent pregnancy or loss of virginity. However, all the teens in this study were using a hormonal contraceptive, and had lost their vaginal virginity. Future HIV-prevention interventions should address this high-risk behavior.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.