John O. G. Billy

Contextual Effects on the Sexual Behavior of Adolescent Women.

The impact of social context on female adolescents sexual behavior subsequent to first intercourse was investigated through use of data on females 15-19 years of age from Cycle III of the 1982 US National Survey of Family Growth. Logistic regression was selected to estimate models for the two dependent variables--experiencing premarital intercourse and coital frequency--for the 566 Black and 1286 White subjects. Community factors such as social disorganization socioeconomic status religiosity female labor force participation population composition and family planning service availability were found to be significant influences on premarital sexual behavior but more so for Black adolescents. The contextual determinants were most operable in terms of ever having premarital intercourse. Census tract variables that increased the likelihood of premarital coitus among Whites included increased percentages of separated or divorced women greater female labor force participation a higher ratio of unmarried males aged 15 years and older to same aged females and lower percentages of Black and foreign-born; at the county level of analysis a high crime rate and low church attendance were significant. Among non-Whites the premarital coitus risk increased with the tract-level variables of increased female employment lower percentage of unmarried adult women and higher numbers of adolescents not in school and with the county-level factors of a high sex ratio and lower levels of urbanization. Among whites increased coital frequency was increased by the percentage of adolescents in the community who are unemployed or school drop-outs low membership in conservative religious groups a high proportion of males to females and a higher percentage of adolescent family planning clinic attendance the sex ratio and the percentage of out-of-school adolescents. These contextual factors tended to influence sexual behavior directly even when individual-level factors were included in the model.

The sexual behavior of men in the United States.

A nationally representative study of the sexual behavior of men aged 20-39 in the United States shows that the prevalence and frequency of sexual acts (vaginal, anal and oral) and sexual orientation vary by social and demographic characteristics. Analysis of data from 3,321 respondents to the 1991 National Survey of Men reveals that 95% of men have had vaginal intercourse; among them, 23% have had 20 or more vaginal sex partners in their lifetime. About one-fifth of never-married and formerly married men had four or more partners over a recent 18-month period. However, 41% of never-married men and 32% of formerly married men did not have coitus during the four weeks preceding the interview. Only 20% of men have ever engaged in anal intercourse. Among these, 51% had not done so during the previous 18 months, and 90% had not done so during the previous four weeks. Seventy-five percent of men have performed oral sex and 79% have received oral sex, although 53% of men who ever performed oral sex had not done so during the four weeks prior to interview, and only 11% had done so six or more times. The frequency of receiving oral sex is similar. Only 2% of sexually active men aged 20-39 have had any same-gender sexual activity during the last 10 years, and only 1% reported being exclusively homosexual during this interval.

Serum androgenic hormones motivate sexual behavior in adolescent boys

In order to separate hormonal from social effects on adolescent male sexual behavior, serum hormone assays were performed and questionnaire data on sexual motivation and behavior were collected on a representative sample of 102 boys in grades 8, 9, and 10 of a public school system. Free testosterone was a strong predictor of sexual motivation and behavior, with no additional contribution of other hormones. Including measures of pubertal development and age (indexing the effects of social processes) indicated no additional effects. Free testosterone, therefore, appears to affect sexual motivation directly and does not work through the social interpretation of the accompanying pubertal development.

Men's Perceptions of Their Roles and Responsibilities Regarding Sex, Contraception and Childrearing

Data from the 1991 National Survey of Men examine mens perceptions about their roles in relation to those of women in a couples decision-making about sex, contraception and the rearing of children. A majority of men (61%) perceive that there is gender quality in sexual decision-making, and more than three-quarters (78%) believe that men and women share equal responsibility for decisions about contraception. However, men are three times as likely to say that women play a greater role in a couples decisions about sex as they are to believe that men have the greater voice (30% compared with 9%). In contrast, men are more than twice as likely to perceive than men have a greater responsibility in contraceptive decisions as they are to say that women do (15% compared with 7%). Finally, 88% of men strongly agree that a man has the same responsibilities as a woman for the children they have together.

Effects of sexual activity on adolescent social and psychological development.

Recent studies have documented significant increases in the premarital sexual activity of adolescents; whether premarital adolescent sexual activity has any effects on later life events which do not operate through pregnancy related behaviors remains largely untested. This study conducts such an initial investigation by focusing on the short-term consequences of early sexual involvement for changes in the social and psychological characteristics of adolescents. Panel data were collected from Tallahassee Florida public school students in 1980 and 1982; changes over this time period in 15 outcomes are analyzed as consequences of intercourse behavior by race and sex subgroups. To summarize the studys principal findings adolescent premarital coitus: 1) does not precipitate overwhelming changes in an adolescents social psychological framework over a subsequent 2-year interval 2) has more significant effects on the subsequent attitudes and behaviors of whites than of blacks 3) leads to more positive attitudes toward sex for all race-sex subgroups 4) strongly negatively affects the self-reported academic grades of white males 5) negatively affects the importance of going to college among white females and 6) strongly positively affects the selection by white males and white females of friends who are sexually active.

Gender, Race, Class and Self-Reported Sexually Transmitted Disease Incidence

Multivariate analysis of data from two nationally representative surveys of adult men and women indicates that the likelihood of a self-reported sexually transmitted disease (STD) infection varies by gender, race and socioeconomic status, even after accounting for differences in sexual and health care behaviors. Women and black respondents are more than three times as likely to report an STD infection as men and white respondents; men and women with 12 or fewer years of education are about 30% less likely than those with more schooling to report having had an STD. Income, welfare status and access to health care have no significant association with self-reported STD incidence, but sexual behavior is strongly related. Men and women who have engaged in anal intercourse, have paid for sex or have had one-night stands are significantly more likely than those who avoid these behaviors to report an STD. Further, the likelihood of an STD dramatically increases with the lifetime number of sex partners reported: Compared with men and women who have had only one partner, those who report 2-3 partners are five times as likely to have had an STD; the odds are as high as 31:1 for those who report 16 or more partners.

The influence of community characteristics on the practice of effective contraception.

An analysis combining individual-level data from the National Survey of Family Growth with aggregate-level information provides evidence that the characteristics of communities influence the contraceptive decisions of currently married white women in the United States. The analysis examined the relationship between the average effectiveness level of the contraceptive methods that a woman used over a three-and-a-half-year period and community characteristics such as employment opportunities, the availability of contraceptive and abortion information and services, and the level of religious adherence in communities. Community characteristics associated with higher levels of contraceptive effectiveness were rapid population growth, high rates of unemployment, elevated levels of religious affiliation, high socioeconomic status, and ready access to family planning information and services. Community liberality was negatively associated with effective contraceptive use. The results support arguments that various community characteristics affect a womans contraceptive choices by increasing or decreasing the costs of an unintended pregnancy.

Contraceptive method switching in the United States.

CONTEXT Switching among contraceptive method types is the primary determinant of the prevalence of use of specific contraceptive methods, and it has direct implications for womens ability to avoid unintended pregnancies. Yet, method switching among U.S. women has received little attention from researchers. METHODS Data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth were used to construct multiple-decrement life tables to explore the gross switching rates of married and unmarried women. Within each group, discrete-time hazard models were estimated to determine how womens characteristics affect their switching behavior. RESULTS Overall rates of method switching are high among both married and unmarried women (40% and 61%, respectively). Married womens two-year switching rates vary from 30% among women who use the implant, injectable, IUD or other reversible methods to 43% among nonusers, while unmarried womens rates vary from 33% among women who use the implant, injectable or IUD to 70% among nonusers. Multivariate analyses of method switching according to womens characteristics indicate that among married women, women without children are less likely than other women to adopt sterilization or a long-term reversible contraceptive (the implant, injectable or IUD). Older married women have a higher rate than their younger counterparts of switching to sterilization, but are also more likely to continue using no method. Among unmarried women, younger and more highly educated women have high rates of switching to the condom and to dual methods. CONCLUSIONS Womens method switching decisions may be driven primarily by concerns related to level and duration of contraceptive effectiveness, health risks associated with contraceptive use and, among single women, sexually transmitted disease prevention.

Condom use among U.S. men 1991.

A 1991 study of a nationally representative sample of men aged 20-39 finds that 27% of sexually active men had used a condom in the four weeks before interview. Black men are more likely than white men to report condom use (38% vs. 25%), and men younger than 30 are more likely to do so than are those older than 30 (36% vs. 19%). Among white men, condom use increases with years of education; among black men, however, those with 12 years of education are much less likely to report condom use than are those with more or less than 12 years (28% vs. 43-50%). Condom use is positively related to number of partners. Men who have engaged in anal intercourse, those who have had a one-night stand and those who are bisexual or homosexual are also more likely to report condom use. Among those who reported using a condom in the previous four weeks, 55% of whites and 18% of blacks had done so only for birth control and 7% of whites and 9% of blacks had done so only for protection against infection with the human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted organisms; the remainder had used a condom for both reasons.

THE EFFECT OF MARITAL STATUS AT FIRST BIRTH ON MARITAL DISSOLUTION AMONG ADOLESCENT MOTHERS

The effect of the sequencing of marriage and first birth on marital dissolution among adolescent mothers is investigated. We compare three groups who had a first live birth before age 20: those married before becoming pregnant, those married between conception and birth, and those who did not marry before the birth. The analysis demonstrates that teenage mothers are less likely to experience a separation if they marry before rather than after the birth. Among those marrying before the birth, there is little difference between those who marry before or after becoming pregnant. The effects of marital status at first birth are shown to vary by race, marital duration, and historical time.