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Poster Abstracts / 48 (2011) S18 –S120
Conclusions: Female and male adolescents are both engaging in maintenance behaviors in main partner relationships, but there is no correlation with monogamy. These results imply that adolescent couples, like adults, are applying techniques in order to maintain the strength and commitment in their relationships. While adolescents engaged in maintenance behaviors to show closeness and sacrifice, these do not protect relationships from non-monogamy. Relationship behaviors should be explored more widely in adolescents to better understand the context of monogamy. Sources of Support: 5T32-HD052459, 5 RO1 AI 36986-08.
does a significant and strong job predicting intentions (Kenya, R2 ⫽ .35, F(6, 936) ⫽ 83.0, p ⬍ .001; Kenya, R2 ⫽ .26, F(6, 994) ⫽ 58.8, p ⬍ .001, TandT, R2 ⫽ .52, F(6, 923) ⫽ 166.5. Conclusions: How easy or hard it is, as well as the perceived benefits versus harms, of being in a concurrent relationship appear to drive one’s plans to be in such a relationship in the near future. This study presents consistent findings across large samples of youth from three countries. As well, this study offers valuable information on the theoretical constructs that may affect sexual behaviors. Sources of Support: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
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PLANNING TO HOOK UP: USING THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR TO EXPLAIN CONCURRENCY INTENTIONS AMONG YOUTH FROM THREE COUNTRIES Dina Borzekowski, EdD, EdM, MS. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
SEXUAL HISTORY OF ADOLESCENTS IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: WHEN THE DOCTOR ASKS, THE PATIENT TELLS Monika Goyal, MD2, Marin McCutcheon, BA1, Katie Hayes, BS1, Cynthia Mollen, MD, MSCE1. 1 Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia 2Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Emergency Medicine
Purpose: This study’s purpose was to examine the factors that help explain a young person’s intentions to engage in a concurrent sexual relationship. The Theory of Planned Behavior guided this exploration of constructs that might influence an individual’s intentions to engage in this risky behavior. Methods: While evaluating a large-scale health communication campaign in three countries, researchers collected data on sexual attitudes and behaviors from youth ages 15 to 24 years. Representative samples were obtained by recruiting youth from diverse locales. In Kenya and Zambia, youth came only from the cities of Nairobi and Lusaka, respectively. In Trinidad and Tobago (TandT), participants came from across the entire country. Procedure and protocols were approved by in-country IRB Boards, as well as a U.S. university committee on human research. After providing consent, participants completed an extensive survey, asking demographic and behavioral questions. A visual analog scale was used to assess behavioral perceptions, social norms, and control beliefs; participants marked a bar with an “x” to indicate their thoughts. The analyses used regression to ascertain which variables significantly predicted (and to what degree) intentions to be in a concurrent sexual relationship. Results: Researchers considered data from 1076 participants from Nairobi (58% male, mean age ⫽ 20.2 years),1002 from Lusaka (59% male, mean age ⫽ 20.7 years), and 1046 from TandT (46% male, mean age ⫽ 18.5 years). Among the Kenyans, just 34% had completed secondary school, while for the Zambians and TandTians, it was 54% and 63%, respectively. Across countries, over 85% of the youth reported having electricity; having indoor latrines was more limited (Kenya- 53%, Zambia63%, TandT- 93%). Cell phone ownership was high (Kenya- 74%, Zambia- 83%, TandT- 95%). Previous and reported involvement in a concurrent relationship was highest among the Zambians (24% yes), followed by the Kenyans (19%) and the TandTians (14%). In all samples, males and older participants were significantly more likely to report being in such a relationship. On a scale from 0 to 10, the highest intentions to engage in a concurrent relationship was among the Kenays (2.8), followed by youth from Zambia (1.3) and TandT (1.2). Regression analyses offers that the set of variables (including previous behaviors, sex, age, behavioral beliefs, social norms, and control beliefs)
Purpose: Adolescent females frequently present to the emergency department (ED) with symptoms that may be suggestive of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Although obtaining a sexual history is a crucial step in assessment of risk for STIs, studies have found that sexual histories are not routinely obtained by physicians. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of physician documented sexual histories in adolescent females presenting to a pediatric ED with symptoms suggestive of an STI. Our secondary objectives were to determine whether a physician documented sexual history increases STI testing and to compare the concordance of physician elicited sexual histories with patient documented sexual histories utilizing confidential questionnaires. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective study of adolescent females presenting to a pediatric ED with chief complaints of lower abdominal pain and/or genitourinary complaints. A subset of these patients completed a questionnaire pertaining to sexual health. Patient charts were later abstracted for presence or absence of documented sexual histories and demographics. Descriptive statistics, correlation testing, and logistic regression were performed using STATA 10.0 (College Station, TX). Results: A total of 328 patients were enrolled. 204 (82%) patients had a physician documented sexual history, of which 69% reported being sexually active to the physician. Patient age (odds ratio [OR] 2.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3, 5.3) and Black race (OR 2.0; CI 1.1, 3.7) were associated with physician documented sexual history. The documentation of a sexual history increased the likelihood of STI testing (OR 3.93; CI 2.04, 7.59). In the patients (n ⫽ 109) who completed the sexual health questionnaire, physician elicited sexual histories were highly concordant with patient documented sexual histories on questionnaire (Spearman r 0.90, p ⬍ .001) Conclusions: In this study, we found that even when adolescent patients presented to an ED with symptoms suggestive of an STI, sexual histories were not routinely obtained. However, just the documentation of a sexual history significantly increased the odds of STI testing. These results suggest ED phy-