Number of sexual partners and health lifestyle of adolescents. Use of the AMA Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services to address a basic research question.

OBJECTIVE

To expand understanding of the behavioral epidemiology of an important sexually transmitted disease risk factor within a clinical framework of the AMA Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services (GAPS): Recommendations and Rationale.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of the fourth year of a longitudinal study of adolescent health behavior.

SETTING

High schools in a single major urban school district.

PARTICIPANTS

Nine hundred and forty-six white, African American, and Hispanic sexually active adolescents.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of sexual partners in previous year and other health-risk and health-protective behaviors. Measures are operationalized according to guidelines for adolescent preventive services recommendations.

RESULTS

Adolescents with 3 or more sexual partners annually were more involved with potentially health-harming behaviors such as illicit substance use and less involved with potentially health-protective behaviors such as seat belt use. These relationships were independent of sex, ethnic group, or socioeconomic status.

CONCLUSIONS

The number of sexual partners may be considered part of a larger pattern of adolescent health-risk and health-protective behaviors. The guidelines may provide a useful framework for clinical assessment of these patterns as part of a routine health care visit of adolescent patients.