Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Although research finds high rates of risky sexual behavior among homeless youth, little is known about the role that social network characteristics play in this process. Based on a sample of 172 homeless young adults in the Midwest, results revealed that pressure to have sex or use drugs and having an alcohol or illicit drug user in one’s network were significantly associated with risky sexual practices among homeless young adults. However, the influence of each of the network characteristics varied by type of sexual behavior. For example, having an illicit drug user present in one’s network increased the odds by three to four times that respondents would have more than 10 lifetime sexual partners and that they would have had a sexually transmitted disease. Additionally, being pressured to have sex increased the odds of trading sex by almost five and a half times and those who had an alcohol user present were twice as likely not to have used a condom at last sex. Sexual minority youth were more likely to have traded sex compared to heterosexual youth and females were two to three times more likely to have had a sexually transmitted disease compared to males.