Impoverished black adolescent males: An analysis of sexual risk factors

According to data gathered from the NSFG and the YRBS, teen pregnancy rates have decreased dramatically in the last decade. This decline has been attributed to changes in the sexual behavior of adolescent males. Nonetheless, teen pregnancy rates amongst Blacks are still approximately 2.5 times the rates of Whites. Furthermore, a disproportionate rate of risky sexual behaviors is significant amongst Black males participating in the YRBS. STD and teen pregnancy prevention continue to be major Public Health concerns, particularly for impoverished Black adolescents. In 2004 Blacks accounted for 55% of all HIV infections reported among persons aged 13–24. Much of the research in this area is based on data collected from females. Still little is known about impoverished Black males' sexual risk related factors. Therefore, this study aimed to describe impoverished Black males' sexual risk behaviors and psychosocial factors that underlie these behaviors. This study uses the Mobile Youth Survey (MYS), a community based, longitudinal multiple cohort study of adolescents living within 13 of the most impoverished neighborhoods of Mobile, Alabama. Descriptive Statistics were calculated with SPSS using MYS data from 1998 to 2005 (N ≈7000) of adolescent Black males' sexual risk behaviors. Preliminary findings show that about one-third of the males surveyed believe that boys their ages prove that they are men by having sex. More then 50% of males reported they would feel happy or wouldn't care if they got someone pregnant whereas 70% of females reported they would feel angry or unhappy. More than twice as many males than females reported currently trying to get or get someone pregnant. The CDC recommends that STD and pregnancy prevention education be locally determined and consistent with community values. Hence, the results from this study will serve as an assessment for more targeted interventions addressing this population.