title: Adolescents' discussions about contraception or STDs with partners before first sex.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Limited research has examined the individual, family and relationship factors that determine whether teenagers discuss contraception or STDs with their sexual partners before having sex for the first time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Logistic regression analyses of data from 1,426 teenagers who participated in Waves 1 (1995) and 2 (1996) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and who had first sex between waves examined factors influencing whether respondents discussed contraception or STDs with their partner before first sex, and whether these factors differ by gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-three percent of females and 45% of males discussed contraception or STDs before having first sex. The greater respondents' perceived condom knowledge and the greater their communication with their parents about everyday life, the higher their odds of discussing contraception or STDs before first sex (odds ratio, 1.2 for each). Being black was positively associated with sexual communication before first sex (1.9); as the number of dating activities and score on a test of verbal ability increased, so did the odds of such communication (1.6 and 1.02, respectively). The predictors of discussions about contraception or STDs did not differ by gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By increasing teenagers' knowledge about condoms and other methods of contraception, pregnancy and STD prevention programs can help to encourage communication among teenage partners before the initiation of sexual intercourse. Programs should also encourage conversations between parents and teenagers, even when not about sex.
authors.affiliation: Child Trends, Washington, DC, USA. sryan@childtrends.org
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Franzetta
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manlove
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holcombe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003075:Coitus; D003267:Contraception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases; D014481:United States