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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Hyeouk Chris Hahm, PhD, School of Social Work, Boston univeristy, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, 617-353-3925, hahm@bu.edu, Jieha Lee, MSW, School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215, and Al Ozonoff, PhD, Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, T4E, Boston, MA 02118.

Background: This study investigated whether gender was associated with risky sexual behaviors and prevalence of STDs among AAPI young adults.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of AAPIs (n = 938, 48.5 % women, age 18-24 years old) who enrolled in Wave III (2001) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were analyzed. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted with considerations of the complex survey design. Primary outcome measures included self-reported STD diagnosis and HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors such as sex in exchange for money and having more than one sexual partner..

Results: In chi-square analyses, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of STDs by gender. Seven percent of women in the sample reported having any type of STDs, compared with 1.7 % of men (p = .01). Among those who reported having STD, the majority (80.6%) were women. In logistic regression analyses, AAPI women were 2.7 times more likely to engage in HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors (p = .013, CI 1.24-6.07), and 5.1 times more likely to report STDs compared to AAPI men (p = .027, CI 1.20-20.9), controlling for education, US birth status, alcohol use, cigarette use, self-confidence, religious faith, life satisfaction, and STD testing behaviors.

Conclusions: AAPI young women are at a higher risk for HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors and contracting STDs than AAPI young men. For this fast-growing population, there is a crucial need for HIV preventive programs that are culturally sensitive and gender specific.

Learning Objectives:

• To describe the prevalence and incidence of risky sexual behaviors and STDs among Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) young adults using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample.
• To discuss the public health implications in addressing the role of gender in HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors and STDs among AAPI.
• To discuss the study’s limitations and their implications for future research.
• To discuss possible intervention strategies that will reduce HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors and prevalence and incidence of STDs among AAPI.

Keywords: HIV Risk Behavior, STD

Related Web page: www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No