Elevated Sexual Risk Behaviors among Post-Incarcerated Young African American Males in the South

The dramatic racial disparities in the rates of HIV/STIs among African Americans make understanding broader structural factors that increase the risk for HIV/STIs crucial. The current study of young 564 African American men attending sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics investigated whether those who had ever been incarcerated reported recent sexual behaviors relatively more risky than their counterparts who had never been incarcerated. 

Participants were recruited from clinics treating STIs in three southern U.S. cities. Males 15–23 years of age who identified as Black/African American and reported recent (past two months) sexual activity were eligible. Linear mixed-effects models and Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models were used to assess associations between baseline incarceration history and sexual risk behavior over a 6-month follow-up period. Mean age was 19.6 years (SD=1.87). 

At baseline, 240 (42.6%) men reported history of incarceration. Incarceration history predicted several risk behaviors over a 6-month follow-up period. Compared to those with no incarceration history, men previously incarcerated reported a desire to conceive a pregnancy, were less likely to have used a condom at last sex act and were more likely to have used drugs and alcohol before sex in the past two months. 

A history of incarceration may influence the sexual risk behavior of young African American males. Prevention programs and interventions should intensify support for post-incarceration African American males to help mitigate this behavior.

Read more at:  http://ht.ly/S6DN5

Via: JaNelle M. Ricks, DrPH,1 Richard A. Crosby, PhD,2,3 and Ivy Terrell, MPH4

1Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

2Department of Health Behavior, College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky, 111 Washington Ave, Lexington, KY 40506, USA

3The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Morrison Hall 302, 1165 E Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA

4Department of Pediatrics at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, 433 Bolivar Street, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA

Correspondence: JaNelle M. Ricks, DrPH, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Road, Room 426, Atlanta, GA 30322