Relationship between number of sexual intercourse partners and selected health risk behaviors among public high school adolescents

Purpose: To examine the relationship between number of sexual partners and selected health risk behaviors in a statewide sample of public high school students. Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used to secure usable sexual risk-taking, substance use, and vi olence/aggression data from 3805 respondents. Because simple polychotomous logistic regression analysis revealed a significant Race x Gender interacti on, subsequent multivariate models were constructed separately for each rac e-gender group. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals was calculated fro m polychotomous logistic regression models for number of sexual intercourse partners and their potential risk behavior correlates. Results: An increased number of sexual intercourse partners were correlated with a cluster of risk behaviors that place adolescents at risk for uninte nded pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency synd rome, and other sexually transmitted infections. For Black females, alcohol , tobacco, marijuana use, and dating violence behaviors were the strongest predictors of an increased number of sexual partners; white females had sim ilar predictors with the addition of physical fighting. For white males, al cohol, tobacco, marijuana use, physical fighting, carrying weapons, and dat ing violence were the strongest predictors of an increased number of sexual intercourse partners. Black males had similar predictors with the addition of binge alcohol use. Conclusion: Prevention of adolescent sexual and other health risk behaviors calls for creative approaches in school and community settings and will re quire long-term intervention strategies focused on adolescent behavior chan ges and environmental modifications. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1 999.