title: Number of sexual partners and health lifestyle of adolescents. Use of the AMA Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services to address a basic research question.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To expand understanding of the behavioral epidemiology of an important sexually transmitted disease risk factor within a clinical framework of the AMA Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services (GAPS): Recommendations and Rationale.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analysis of the fourth year of a longitudinal study of adolescent health behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  High schools in a single major urban school district.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine hundred and forty-six white, African American, and Hispanic sexually active adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Number of sexual partners in previous year and other health-risk and health-protective behaviors. Measures are operationalized according to guidelines for adolescent preventive services recommendations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescents with 3 or more sexual partners annually were more involved with potentially health-harming behaviors such as illicit substance use and less involved with potentially health-protective behaviors such as seat belt use. These relationships were independent of sex, ethnic group, or socioeconomic status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of sexual partners may be considered part of a larger pattern of adolescent health-risk and health-protective behaviors. The guidelines may provide a useful framework for clinical assessment of these patterns as part of a routine health care visit of adolescent patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Riley Children's Hospital, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, USA.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Fortenberry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000574:American Medical Association; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D015438:Health Behavior; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data