African American Adolescents, Risky Sexual Behaviors and Marijuana Use

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among risky sexual behaviors and marijuana (MJ) use among African American (AA) adolescents, who presently represent the largest group of individuals infected with HIV each year. This group of young adults, between the ages of 13-24, accounted for almost 10,000 (21%) of the 47,352 HIV diagnoses in 2013 (CDC, 2015). Furthermore, 28.9% of AA adolescents were identified by the June 2014 CDC Morbidity and Mortality report as active MJ users. The likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors, such as sex without a condom or multiple partners, is increased by MJ use (Hendershot, Magnan & Bryan, 2010). Given these prevalences among AA youth, researchers’ and practitioners’ efforts to increase awareness of the associations of risky sexual behaviors and MJ use are warranted.

METHODS: Baseline, cross-sectional data from the larger longitudinal H.Y.P.E 2.0 project were used for analyses. Participants are a community-based sample of AA adolescents (N=453; 49.1 % female) in an urban setting, mean age 16.85 years (SD=1.19; range=15-19 years). The following variables were measured: (1) age of sexual initiation; (2) number of lifetime sexual partners; and (3) lifetime MJ use. Pearson’s Correlation and multiple regression (MR) analyses were performed to examine these relationships and determine the effects of MJ use and age at initiation of sexual intercourse on the number of lifetime sexual partners.

RESULTS: Pearson’s correlation results indicated the following significant relationships: AA adolescents’ number of lifetime sexual partners and lifetime MJ use (r=.551, p<.01); number of lifetime sexual partners and age of sexual initiation (r=-.610, p <.01); and lifetime MJ use and number of lifetime sexual partners (r=-.373, p <.01). Multiple regression analyses indicated age of sexual initiation had a negative effect on number of lifetime sexual partners (β=-0.481, p=0.001), meaning youth who first had sexual intercourse at younger ages are likely to have more lifetime sexual partners. Also, lifetime MJ use positively predicted the number of lifetime sexual partners (β=0.391, p<0.001), meaning the number of lifetime sexual partners was higher among adolescents who reported more lifetime MJ use. The MR model indicated 37.4% of the variance of the number of lifetime sexual partners was explained by age of first sexual initiation, and lifetime MJ use added another 13.5% to the variance of lifetime sexual partners (F(2, 442)=229.203, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Study findings, though possibly limited to urban AA adolescents, confirm a need for social work researchers and practitioners to update current research-informed curricula to include content about the relationship between risky sexual behaviors and MJ use, with the goal of improving the overall health and psychosocial development of adolescents. These findings contribute to the current knowledge base by specifically identifying early sexual initiation and having multiple lifetime sexual partners as important risk factors which can be targeted in preventive and intervention efforts with this population.