Sexual network structure among a household sample of urban african american adolescents in an endemic sexually transmitted infection setting.
BACKGROUND
Sexual networks play an important role in the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV. However, because of the challenges of collecting network data, relatively few empirical reports exist about the structure of sexual networks in general population samples. This study describes the structure of the sexual networks of a household sample of urban black adolescents living in an area with moderate endemic STI rates.


METHODS
Random digit dialing was used to recruit a household sample of black adolescents from the Bayview-Hunter's Point neighborhood of San Francisco. Participants' recent partners and partners of partners were recruited through snowball sampling. Biologic samples were tested for current infection with gonorrhea or chlamydia. Social network analysis methods were used to describe the characteristics of the resulting sexual networks.


RESULTS
One hundred and sixty-six sexually active participants were connected to 388 network members in 159 separate sexual network components. Despite relatively high prevalence of bacterial STIs (13%), components were small (3.5 people on average, and half involved only 2 people), linear and acyclic. Females were less central in their networks than males by local measures but just as central when overall structure was taken into account.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results confirm, in a new setting, previous observations that sexual network structures necessary for endemic transmission of gonorrhea and chlamydia are sparsely connected.
Fichtenberg
Caroline M
CM
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. cfichten@jhsph.edu
Muth
Stephen Q
SQ
Brown
Beth
B
Padian
Nancy S
NS
Glass
Thomas A
TA
Ellen
Jonathan M
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D016358:Contact Tracing; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D012495:San Francisco; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D015231:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult