Author:
Sonja Feist-Price, PhD ,University of Kentucky
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Date Posted: Sat, March 03 2001, 19:25:08 PST
In reply to:
copied from: http://www.internationalmedicalnews.com/
's message, "Body decor raises liver risk" on Sat, March 03 2001, 19:11:04 PST
Sexual Initiation among Female Adolescents: Does the Age of Partners Matter
Sonja Feist-Price, PhD , Department of Special Education & Rehab. Counseling, University of Kentucky, 229 Taylor Education Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0001, Angela Ebreo, PhD, Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky, 110 College of Medicine Office Bld, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0086, and Chrystal Edge, MA, Educational & Counseling Psychology, University of Kentucky, College of Education, 245 Dickey Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0017.
Adolescent females who initiate sex with older males may have an elevated risk of acquiring HIV because these partners are more likely than adolescent males to have had multiple partners, to have had varied sexual and drug use experiences, and to be infected with HIV. The potential power differentials created by differences in age and sexual experience may also present a greater HIV transmission risk.
Findings from our study indicate that adolescent females who initiated sex with older males are more likely to experience problem drinking, use alcohol during sex, use marijuana in the last 12 months, and perceive that they are at risk for contracting HIV. Large partner age differentials at the onset of sexual intercourse are also related to the age of females' current partners. As espoused by Miller, Clark and Moore (1997), this suggests that the first sexual experiences may contribute to sexual "scripts", or ideas about sexual interactions (e.g., that condoms are used only for contraception), that are played out in the future with the same or different partners.There is a need to document and address HIV risks female adolescents may face when their first sexual encounter is with an older male.
(Presentation to American Public Health Association,2000)
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