Session: Correlates and Outcomes of Health Disparities in Sexual Risk Behaviors for Diverse Young Adults (Society for Prevention Research 23rd Annual Meeting)

SESSION INTRODUCTION: Disparities in HIV and sexually transmitted infections are persistent by gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. A great deal of research is being directed at explaining these health disparities by elucidating associations between psychosocial antecedents of sexual risk and how they might differ by social identity and group memberships. This symposium presents innovative analyses to explore sexual behaviors and their correlates among adolescengs and young adults, which a focus on the role of gender, race, and sexual orientation.

The first paper, “Gender Differences in Associations Between Sexual Behavior and Depressive Symptoms from Adolescence to Early Adulthood,” uses an innovative new method to examine the time-varying association between depressive symptoms and sexual risk behavior from adolescence to adulthood in a national sample of adolescents and young adults. Results indicate that gender models these associations, with sexual risk behavior tied to depressive symptoms for young women.

The second paper, “Racial Differences in the Time-Varying Effect of Age of Sexual Debut on Sexual Risk Behavior in Young Adulthood,” uses time-varying effect models (TVEM) to explore the relationship between age of sexual debut and subsequent sexual risk behavior in young adulthood. Findings indicate that the association between continuous age of sexual debut and adult sexual risk behavior is different for Black and White young adults, with early adolescence being particularly important for Whites.

The third paper, “Adult Attachment Insecurity as a Predictor of Sexual Risk Behavior Among Young Black Men who have Sex with Men,” used a mixed-methods approach to examine the relationship between affective features of sexual relationships and sexual risk behavior. The paper presents quantitative evidence that attachment style is related to risky sexual behavior; it also uses a qualitative approach to delve more deeply into relationship features that are associated with sexual risk behavior in this high-risk population.

These three papers demonstrate how innovative methods, such as TVEM and mixed-methods approaches, can help advance scientific knowledge on sexual risk behavior. At the conclusion of the presentations, the discussant, an expert on culturally-specific sexual risk interventions for youth, will lead a discussion on common themes and meanings of these disparities for HIV and STI prevention programs.