Data from the National AIDS Behavioral Surveys. III. Multiple sexual partners among blacks in high-risk cities.

The National AIDS Behavioral Surveys collected data between June 1990 and February 1991 on the prevalence of multiple sex partners and condom use among 2, 166 blacks living in cities with a high prevalence of AIDS cases. Almost one-fifth (19%) of respondents report having had two or more partners in the year preceding the survey. More men (30%) than women (10%), and more single (25%) than married or cohabiting adults (8%), report that they have had multiple sexual partners in the previous year. Although respondents are more likely to use condoms with secondary than main sexual partners, substantial proportions of blacks with multiple sex partners used no condoms in the previous year with either their main (47%) or their secondary partners (35%).