'Nobody cares if I use a condom': Sexual Risk Behaviors of Foster Care Youth

Of the more than 500,000 American children in foster care, approximately 50% are over the age of 13.  These teens come from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds and rural, urban, and suburban environments.  African American teens are disproportionately represented at nearly 3 times there numbers in the general US population.  Foster youth have a double vulnerability – adolescence, a critical stage marked by increased risk for negative social and behavioral outcomes; and, being in foster care. Risky sexual behavior puts youth in danger of acquiring STIs, having an unintended pregnancy, and becoming a teen parent.   Our study examined survey data to assess the overall sexual reproductive health needs for youth aged 14-21 in foster care in Baltimore City (57% Male; 89% African American).  76% of these teens had had sexual intercourse at some point in their lifetime.  Of these, 72% were sexually active before the age of 16.  85% reported having sex without a condom in the past 3 months.  40% of this vulnerable population had been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant; of them, 50% had done so more than once.  A thorough examination of the sexual risk behaviors of foster youth is necessary in order to develop effective prevention strategies.  Engaging in sexual risk behavior can set the stage for engaging in other risky behaviors, thus increasing the likelihood of self-injury, victimization by others, and other negative consequences that result from these behaviors in an already vulnerable population.