Trends in Sex of Sex Partners and Sexual Identity Among US Adolescents, 2015-2021.

Details

• Alternative Title:
  The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2025, v. 77, no. 2: Trends in Sex of Sex Partners and Sexual Identity Among US Adolescents, 2015-2021.
• Journal Article:
  The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Lawley, Kendall A. ; Barry, Michael P. ; Koenig, Linda J. ; Suarez, Nicolas A. ; Williams, Austin M. ; Delaney, Kevin P. ; Hoover, Karen W. ; Hamilton, Deven T. ; Goodreau, Steven M.
• Description:
  We sought to assess recent trends in both sex of sex partners and sexual identity among US adolescents. One motivation for this investigation is that incidence of sexually transmitted infections is high among US adolescents, and varies along these dimensions; awareness of such trends may help to anticipate shifts in the upcoming needs for prevention and care.
  
  We analyzed four biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey waves (2015-2021; total n = 61,298). We used multinomial trend tests to assess changes in sex of sex partners among all respondents, and among those who had ever had sex. We then assessed trends in sexual identity, and in sex of sex partners disaggregated by sexual identity and by age.
  
  The proportion of female respondents reporting prior same-sex sexual contact increased significantly over time (7.4%-12.2%, p < .001), as it did for males (3.1%-3.8%, p < .02). Proportions with bisexual female, bisexual male, and lesbian identities also increased significantly, while gay male identity did not. There was no significant increase in the proportion of heterosexually-identified adolescents having same-sex contacts, but there was a significant decline in the proportion of gay male respondents having only female partners. Increases in female respondents with female partners occurred across individual ages from 14 to 17.
  
  Sexual identity and sexual contact patterns are both shifting among US adolescents. These may yield upcoming shifts in the distributions of different sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The early age for some of these shifts are especially important to consider for sexual health education.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Humans
  • Adolescent
  • Female
  • Male
  • Sexual Partners
  • Sexual Behavior
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases
  • Sexual and Gender Minorities
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Adolescent Behavior
  More +
• Keywords:
  • sex of sex partners
  • sexual networks
  • sexual orientation
  • sexual minorities
  • HIV
  • sexually transmitted infections
  • United States
  • Youth Risk Behavior Survey
• Source:
  The Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2025, v. 77, no. 2
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.04.011
• ISSN:
  1054-139X ; 1879-1972
• Pubmed ID:
  40542801
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC12313302
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  P2C HD042828/HD/NICHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R24 HD042828/HD/NICHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T32 CA009168/CA/NCI NIH HHSUnited States/ ; U38 PS004646/PS/NCHHSTP CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Pages in Document:
  316-323 (18 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  77
• Issue:
  2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/261314/cdc_261314_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 549.91 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4d4b28fa36e3ead3eddf27a1516530fa7f4eb498db4b3a8eaefb3894bef37d3b7fc74d0b565bd645082dcb4df3b0098d245f15f1af974ee5cc7a9cfd2f5c1c0f