Sexual risk behaviors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths in New York City: Prevalence and correlates

The lifetime and recent sexual risk behaviors of 156 gay, lesbian, and bise xual youths, recruited from gay-focused organizations in New York City, wer e ex amined. The data indicated seven reasons why the youths are at risk fo r HN and other STDs: They initiated sex during early adolescence; their fir st sexual partners were older than they were; HIV barrier methods (e.g., co ndoms) were initiated subsequent to sexual debut; many lifetime sexual part ners and encounters were reported; some youths exchanged sex for goods; man y youths reported having had at least one partner at risk for HIV; and the youths engaged in unprotected sexual behaviors during the past 3 months. Si gnificant gender differences emerged (e.g., the male youths reported more l ifetime same-sex partners than the female youths; the female youths reporte d more lifetime other-sex partners than the male youths). Recent sexual ris k behaviors (i.e., numbers of same-sex partners, encounters, and unprotecte d sex during the past 3 months) were related significantly to the youths' a verage degree of emotional involvement in or average duration of intimate r elationships.