WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLACK-WHITE DIFFERENCES IN RISKY SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR

A sample of African-American and white young adults were classified as having multiple sex partners or one sexual partner. Subjects with mul tiple sexual partners were more likely to use drugs and practice risky sexual behaviors such as having anal intercourse, having sexual exper iences with a prostitute, and having a history of gonorrhea (P<.001) a nd genital warts (P<.01). Additional analyses were conducted to determ ine African-American versus white differences in risky sexual behavior s. Results indicated that whites in the multiple partners and single p artner groups were more likely to engage in anal and oral sex, while A frican Americans were more likely to have sex with prostitutes. Attitu des about the use of condoms differed significantly by multiple partne r status (P<.004) and gender (P<.007), but not ethnicity. However, ang ry reactions about the use of condoms occurred more with African Ameri cans (P<.003) and males (P<.05) than with whites or females. While whi tes reported a greater use of drugs and a significantly higher level o f knowledge about HIV/AIDS, African Americans reported a significantly greater perception of risk for being exposed to human immunodeficienc y virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (P<.01) and si gnificantly more gonorrhea (P<.10), syphilis (P<.05), and HIV/AIDS (P< .05). No whites in our sample were treated for syphilis nor had they t ested positive for HIV/AIDS. On the other hand, 4.5% of the total samp le of African Americans reported testing positive for HIV/AIDS. Finall y, the results from discriminant analysis indicate that a large number of variables significantly discriminate between subjects who engage i n risky sexual behaviors and those who do not. Although there is some similarity in the variables for African Americans and whites, there wa s tremendous variability between the ethnic groups in the factors that predict risky behaviors. These findings are discussed with reference to the need to develop HIV/AIDS prevention programs for African Americ ans that are based on data derived from African-American populations r ather than from black versus white comparison studies.