Victimization, use of violence, and drug use at school among male adolescents who engage in same-sex sexual behavior.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between the number of male sexual partners of adolescent males and the frequency of victimization at school, missed school because of fear, used drugs at school, and engagement of fighting and weapon carrying both in and out of school.

STUDY DESIGN

Sexually active male adolescents (N = 3886) in 8th through 12th grades were administered the 1995 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

RESULTS

A total of 8.7% of male adolescents reported one or more male sexual partners. Alcohol, marijuana, and smokeless tobacco use at school, not attending school because of fear, having been threatened or injured with a weapon at school, and weapon carrying at school accounted for 15.8% of the variation in the number of male sexual partners (p < 0.0001). Suicide attempts, school absence because of fear, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and smokeless tobacco use at school, frequency of fighting requiring medical treatment, carrying a weapon,aand carrying a weapon at school accounted for 17.2% out of 100% of the variation in the number of male sexual partners (p < or 0.00001).

CONCLUSION

The number of male sexual partners reported by sexually active male adolescents correlated with a higher frequency of victimization, use of violence and drug use at school. Frequency of suicide attempts and fighting outside of school were also correlated with the number of same-sex sexual partners.