Factors Associated with Sexual Concurrency among At-Risk African American Teen Women

Background: African-American (AA) teens report feeling pressure to have multiple sexual partners, thereby increasing STI/HIV risk for both themselves and their male partners. Understanding risks for sexual concurrency within AA teen women can aid efforts to identify and intervene with AA teen women at greatest risk. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 715 AA female teens ages 15-21 seeking services at reproductive health clinics in the Atlanta area gathered baseline data on sexual history, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, drug use, mental health, sexual communication, and relationship characteristics. Sexual concurrency was operationalized as having a main sexual partner (boyfriend) and a current casual sex partner simultaneously. Variables identified as significant at the bivariate level were included in a logistic regression with current sexual concurrency as the outcome variable. Results: Twenty-one percent of teens in the sample reported a concurrent sexual relationship. Adjusted analyses showed with each one point increase in positive beliefs about the future of the relationship, the odds of concurrency were reduced by about 0.10 [ExpB = .898; CI = .820-.985]. A greater number of lifetime sexual partners and the boyfriend having sex with another girl during the relationship were borderline significant. Conclusions: These findings show that when expectations for the future of the current relationship are poor, AA female teens in this study were more likely to engage in concurrent sexual relationships. Potential points to target in sexual risk reduction interventions among this group could focus on strengthening relationship skills and empowering female teens with healthy coping skills.