Social Media Use and Sex Risk Behaviors Among Homeless Youth with and without a History of Foster Care

Background: Homeless young adults face particularly high rates of engagement in sex-risk behaviors. High rates of social media use among this population necessitate an understanding of the impact that social media use may have on sex risk behaviors. This analysis seeks to better understand the relationship between social media use for partner-seeking relative to meeting partners in service settings among a sample of homeless young adults with and without a history of foster care.

Methods: The YouthNet data set was used for this analysis, comprised of a community-based sample of 976 homeless youth ages 13-25 from two drop-in centers in Los Angeles, CA (2011-2013). Logistic regressions were used.

Results: Youth who met their most recent sex partner on a social networking website were more likely to engage in anal sex with a condom while youth who met their most recent sex partner at a homeless drop-in center, were more likely to engage in anal sex without a condom. Furthermore, participants with a foster care history were less likely to meet sex partners via social media and more likely to meet sex partners at drop-in centers.

Conclusion: Results suggest that social media partner-seeking, relative to face-to-face partner-seeking, serves as a protective factor. As former foster youth are more likely to partner-seek in service settings they are also more likely to engage in unprotected anal sex. Youth with and without a history of foster care require population-specific interventions that target unique partner-seeking and risk taking behaviors.