PROBLEM BEHAVIORS IN INNER-CITY ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS

This study examines the prevalence of problem behaviors (sexual activi ty, substance use, delinquency, and school failure) in a clinical hosp ital-based sample of 217 inner-city, 14 to 17 year olds with a variety of serious, chronic medical illnesses and compares this prevalence to that in a group of 121 similar-aged, healthy friends with no known ch ronic illnesses living in the same community. No differences were foun d between groups in substance use, delinquency, percent who had ever h ad sexual intercourse, or mean age at first intercourse. There was a s ignificant interaction effect of chronic illness and gender on age at first intercourse (p = .015); boys without chronic illness initiated s exual intercourse at a younger age than those with an illness. Convers ely, girls with a chronic illness initiated sexual intercourse at a yo unger age than their girlfriends without illness. Contrary to expectat ions, significantly more of the healthy friends had repeated a grade i n school than had those with chronic illness (p = .002). Results are d iscussed in terms of the interrelationships of chronic illness, gender , and environment on problem behaviors.