Document Type
Capstone Experience
Graduation Date
8-2023
Degree Name
Master of Public Health
Department
Epidemiology
First Committee Member
Maloney, Patrick
Second Committee Member
Lyden, Elizabeth
Third Committee Member
McClung, Alexis
Abstract
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and other (LGBTQIA+) community participate in higher sexual health risk behaviors that lead to outcomes such as sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies than their heterosexual peers. Youth and adolescent LGBTQIA+ populations also experience this increased sexual health risk which will increase the risk for negative health outcomes as adults. The 2019 Youth Behavioral Risk Survey dataset was used to assess the association between sexual orientation on specific sexual health risk behaviors such as total number of sexual partners, history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, and drinking and/or substance use before last sexual encounter. The results found that there was a significant association between sexual orientation and outcomes total sexual partners and HIV testing. The implications of this study inform positive sexual practice promotion, identify who is getting STI/HIV testing to inform healthcare professionals, and profile which adolescents are drinking and using drugs before last intercourse.
Recommended Citation
Cortez, Carley J., "Influence of Sexual Orientation on Sexual Risk Behaviors among High School Students – United States, 2023" (2023). Capstone Experience. 273.
https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/coph_slce/273