Hopelessness and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Adolescent African American Males in a Low-Income Urban Community

Abstract

African American youth bear a disproportionate burden of sexually transmitted infections. Environmental stressors may lead to increased hopelessness, which in turn can lead to increases in risk-taking behavior. This study explored the hypothesis that as hopelessness increases, sexual risk behavior will increase—specifically, inconsistent condom use and increased number of sex partners. In 2010, 108 African American men 15 to 24 years old responded to sexual behavior questions and Beck’s Hopelessness Scale. The associations between hopelessness and sexual risk behaviors were evaluated with multivariate logistic regression. Increased hopelessness was associated with increased inconsistent condom use with non-main sexual partners (adjusted odds ratio = 2.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.3-4.0). There was no association between hopelessness and condom use with a main partner or sex with more than one partner in the past 3 months. These findings imply that hopelessness may encourage sexual risk-taking behavior in young males.