Individual, family, and relationship predictors of young women's sexual risk perceptions.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the individual, dyad, and family variables that influence young women's perceptions of risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional telephone survey using forced-choice questioning. Data were analyzed using first-order correlations and logistic regression.

SETTING

Participants were recruited from a mid-Atlantic study of young adults and from volunteers at a mid-Atlantic university and surrounding community.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of 93 sexually active, unmarried, heterosexual women, ages 17-26 years. The majority of the study sample was white.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Respondents were asked to estimate their own level of risk for STDs, including HIV, using the responses no, low, moderate, and high risk. Responses were later recoded into no risk versus some risk.

RESULTS

Communication with parents about sexual risk decreased the odds that women would see themselves as being at no risk. Consistent condom use, relationship satisfaction, and perceiving the partner as no risk increased the odds that women would believe they were at no risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses can incorporate these and other study findings into the design of sexual risk reduction programs. Programs that enhance parent-teen communication about sexual risks and assist young women to examine their perceptions of their partners may be more effective than programs that provide information only.