Discordant sexual partnering: a study of high-risk adolescents in San Francisco.
BACKGROUND
In sexual networks, bridge members engaging in discordant partnering play key roles in maintaining and transmitting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) within a population.


OBJECTIVE
The goal was to characterize adolescents likely to engage in discordant sexual relationships with main and casual sex partners.


METHODS
Egocentric data about adolescents and their most recent sex partner(s) collected over 6 months were analyzed with use of logistic regression.


RESULTS
History of STI, drug use, and meeting venue were significantly associated with discordant sexual partnering among high-risk adolescents. Participants with histories of high-risk behavior, e.g., hard drug use or STI, were more likely to have had a recent, dissimilar partner than those with lower-risk profiles. Particular meeting venues, such as clubs and street locations, were more likely to be associated with age-discordant, race-discordant, and drug use-discordant partnerships for females.


CONCLUSIONS
Bridge members of adolescent sexual networks were more likely to have a history of STI, hard drug use, or meeting their sex partner through particular venues.
Lee
Jennifer K
JK
Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Jennings
Jacky M
JM
Ellen
Jonathan M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires