Abstract
Minority adolescents are affected disproportionately by HIV and STIs, and the Internet is a popular venue to meet sex partners. Little is known about the risks of this behavior for minority adolescents. The majority of studies that have examined sexual risk behavior online or STI/HIV prevention programs online have been among adult MSM. In this study, data from 1,045 African American youth found that 6% met sex partners online and in chat rooms. Odds ratios, adjusting for gender, found this behavior was associated with alcohol (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI [1.1, 4.7]) and drug use (AOR = 3.45, 95% CI [1.9, 6.1]), unprotected vaginal (AOR = 4.71, 95% CI [1.9, 8.4]) and anal sex (AOR = 4.77, 95% CI [1.3,17.1]) in the last 90 days, more lifetime vaginal (AOR = 3.65, 95% CI [2.0, 6.8]) and anal sex (AOR = 2.74, 95% CI [1.5, 4.8]), greater sexual sensation seeking (AOR = 2.92, 95% CI [1.5, 5.7]) and greater depression (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI [1.2, 3.6]. A final multiple logistic regression analyses found that male gender (AOR = 3.13, 95% CI [1.7, 5.8]), drug use at last sex (AOR = 2.41, 95% CI [1.3, 4.5]), lifetime history of vaginal (AOR = 2.90, 95% CI [1.5, 5.5]) and anal sex (AOR = 2.09, 95% CI [1.2, 3.6]), and cocaine use (AOR = 8.53, 95% CI [2.7, 27.3]) were independently associated with having sex with a partner met online. Meeting sex partners online is associated with a variety of risks among African American youth; however, the Internet may be an opportunity for intervention.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blas, M. M., Alva, I. E., Carcamo, C. P., Cabello, R., Goodreau, S. M., Kimball, A. M., et al. (2010). Effect of an online video-based intervention to increase HIV testing in men who have sex with men in Peru. PLoS One, 5, e10448.
Bowen, A. M., Horvath, K., & Williams, M. L. (2007). A randomized control trial of Internet-delivered HIV prevention targeting rural MSM. Health Education Research, 22(1), 120–127.
Boyar, R., Levine, D., & Zensius, N. (2011). TECHsex USA: Youth sexuality and reproductive health in the digital age. Oakland, CA: ISIS, Inc.
Bull, S. S., Lloyd, L., Rietmeijer, C., & McFarlane, M. (2004). Recruitment and retention of an online sample for an HIV prevention intervention targeting men who have sex with men: The Smart Sex Quest Project. AIDS Care, 16(8), 931–943.
Bull, S., McFarlane, M., & Rietmeijer, C. (2001). HIV/STD risk behavior among men seeking sex with men online. American Journal of Public Health, 91(6), 988–989.
Carey, M. P., & Schroder, K. E. E. (2002). Development and psychometric evaluation of the brief HIV knowledge questionnaire. AIDS Education and Prevention, 14(2), 172–182.
Carpenter, K. M., Stoner, S. A., Mikko, A. N., Dhanak, L. P., & Parson, J. T. (2010). Efficacy of a web-based intervention to reduce sexual risk in men who have sex with men. AIDS Behavior, 14(3), 549–557.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). Sexually transmitted diseases surveillance, 2007: STDs in racial and ethnic minorities. Retrieved March 27, 2010, from http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats07/minorities.htm.
Chen, H. T., Grimley, D. M., Waithaka, Y., et al. (2008). A process evaluation of the implementation of a computer-based, health provider-delivered HIV-prevention intervention for HIV-positive men who have sex with men in the primary care setting. AIDS Care, 20, 51–60.
Chiasson, M. A., Hirshfield, S., & Rietmeijer, C. (2010). HIV prevention and care in the digital age. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 55(2), S94–S97.
Donohew, R. L., Zimmerman, R., Cupp, P., Novak, S., Colon, S., & Abell, R. (2000). Sensation seeking, impulsive decision-making, and risky sex: Implications for risk taking and design of interventions. Personal and Individual Differences, 28(6), 1079–1091.
Fields, S., Wharton, M., Marrero, A., Little, A., Pannell, K., & Morgan, J. (2006). Internet chat rooms: Connecting with a new generation of young men of color at risk for HIV infection who have sex with other men. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 17, 53–60.
Fleming, D. T., & Wasserheit, J. N. (1999). From epidemiological synergy to public health policy and practice: The contribution of other sexually transmitted diseases to sexual transmission of HIV infection. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 75, 3–17.
Garofalo, R., Herrick, A., Mustanski, B. S., & Donnenberg, G. R. (2007). Tip of the iceberg: Young men who have sex with men, the Internet, and HIV risk. American Journal of Public Health, 97(6), 1113–1117.
Hirshfield, S., Chiasson, M. A., & Scheinmann, R., et al. (2009, August). Reduction in HIV transmission risk among HIV+MSM in an online HIV prevention trial. In Abstract presented at the CDC national HIV prevention conference, Atlanta, GA.
Horrigan, J. B. (2007). Home broadband adoption 2007. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/10-Home-Broadband-Adoption-2009/1-Summary-of-findings.aspx.
Horrigan, J. B. (2008). Home broadband adoption 2008. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/10-Home-Broadband-Adoption-2009/1-Summary-of-findings.aspx.
Horrigan, J. B. (2010). Broadband adoption and use in America (OBI working series paper No. 1:3). Washington, DC: Federal Communications Commission.
Kalichman, S. C., Charsey, C., Cain, D., Pope, H., & Kalichman, M. (2005). Psychosocial correlates of seeking sex partners on the internet among HIV positive men. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 30(3), 243–250.
Klausner, J. D., Levine, D. K., & Kent, C. K. (2004). Internet-based site-specific interventions for syphilis prevention among gay and bisexual men. AIDS Care, 16, 964–970.
Lau, J. T. F., Lau, M., Cheung, A., & Tsui, H. Y. (2008). A randomized controlled study to evaluate the efficacy of an Internet-based intervention in reducing HIV risk behaviors among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong. AIDS Care, 20(7), 820–828.
Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media and mobile internet use among teens and young adults. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/reports/2010/social-media-and-young-adults.aspx.
McFarlane, M., Bull, S., & Rietmeijer, C. (2000). The internet as a newly emerging risk environment for sexually transmitted diseases. Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(4), 443–446.
Noar, S. M., Black, H. G., & Pierce, L. B. (2009). Efficacy of computer technology-based HIV prevention interventions: A meta-analysis. AIDS, 23(1), 107–115.
Noar, S. M., & Palmgreen, P. (Eds.). (2009). Evaluating health communication campaigns: Key issues and alternative approaches [Special issue]. Communication Methods and Measures, 3(1–2), 105–114.
Rhodes, S. D., Hergenrather, K. C., Duncan, J., Miller, C., Wilken, A. M., & Stowes, J. (2010). A pilot intervention utilizing Internet chat rooms to prevent HIV risk behaviors among men who have sex with men. Public Health Reports, 125(Suppl 1), 29–37.
Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Washington, DC: Kaiser Family Foundation.
Romer, D., Sznitman, S., DiClemente, R., Salazar, L. F., Vanable, P. A., Carey, M. P., et al. (2009). Mass media as an HIV-prevention strategy: Using culturally-sensitive messages to reduce HIV-associated sexual behavior of at-risk African American youth. American Journal of Public Health, 99(12), 2150–2159.
Rosser, B. R. S., Oakes, J. M., Konstan, J., Hooper, S., Horvath, K. J., Danilenko, G. P., et al. (2010). Reducing HIV risk behavior of MSM through persuasive computing: Results of the Men’s INTernet Study (MINTS-II). AIDS, 24(13), 2099–2107.
Santor, D. A., & Coyne, J. C. (1997). Shortening the CES-D to improve its ability to detect cases of depression. Psychological Assessment, 9(3), 233–243.
Spitalnick, J. S., Diclemente, R. J., Wingood, G. M., Crosby, R. A., Milhausen, R. R., Sales, J. M., et al. (2007). Brief report: Sexual sensation seeking and its relationship to risky sexual behavior among African American adolescent females. Journal of Adolescence, 30(1), 165–173.
Vanable, P. A., Carey, M. P., Bostwick, R. A., Romer, D. DiClemente, R., Stanton, B., Valois, R. F., & Brown, L. (2008). Community partnerships in HIV prevention research: The example of Project iMMPACS. Chapter in B. Stanton, J. Galbraith & L. Kaljee (Eds.), The uncharted path from clinic-based to community based research (pp. 155–174). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Whiteley, L., Brown, L. K., Swenson, R., Romer, D., DiClemente, R. J., Salazar, L. F., et al. (2011). African American adolescents and new media: Associations with HIV/STI risk behavior and psychosocial variables. Ethnicity and Disease, 21(2), 216–222.
Ybarra, M. L., & Bull, S. S. (2007). Current trends in internet- and cell phone-based HIV prevention programs. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 4(4), 201–207.
Acknowledgments
Supported by National Institutes of Health (NIMH) Grant: UO1 MH066785, a collaborative project awarded to participating sites: Rhode Island Hospital, Emory University, Syracuse University, University of South Carolina, and University of Pennsylvania and NIMH Grant: T32 MH07878 to Rhode Island Hospital (PI: L. Brown).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Whiteley, L.B., Brown, L.K., Swenson, R.R. et al. African American Adolescents Meeting Sex Partners Online: Closing the Digital Research Divide in STI/HIV Prevention. J Primary Prevent 33, 13–18 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-012-0262-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-012-0262-3