Socioeconomic status and self-reported gonorrhea among African American female adolescents

Background: Socioeconomic status is often used to explain race differences in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), yet the independent association of socioeconomic status and STDs among adolescents has been understudied. Objective: To examine the associations between socioeconomic status and sel f-reported gonorrhea among black female adolescents, after controlling for sexual risk behaviors. Methods: Interviews and surveys were completed by 522 sexually active black adolescent females residing in low-income urban neighborhoods. Results: Adolescents whose parents were unemployed were more than twice as likely to report a history of gonorrhea, compared with those with employed parents. Adolescents living with two parents were less likely to report a h istory of gonorrhea. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that gonorrhea is associate d with low socioeconomic status among black adolescent females regardless o f the level of sexual risk behaviors. Lower socioeconomic status may be an marker for risky sociosexual environments.