Abstract
•We examined the relationships between steroid use and sexual risk behaviors.•Participants were sexual minority adolescent boys.•Increased steroid use predicted increased condomless sex.•Increased steroid use predicted increased use of drugs/alcohol during sex.
Previous research has extensively examined the relationship between the use of alcohol and illicit substances with sexual risk behaviors among sexual minority (i.e., gay and bisexual) male youth; however, no known studies have assessed the association of steroid use to risk behaviors among this population.
Participants were 556 sexually active sexual minority adolescent boys (M age=16.2, SD=1.3), taken from a pooled dataset of the 14 jurisdictions from the 2005 and 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys that assessed sexual orientation. The association between lifetime use of steroids and sexual risk behaviors were examined.
Controlling for number of sexual partners, depression, victimization, and race, boys who reported increased steroid use were at increased odds of engaging in condomless sex, OR=1.55, p=.003, and use of alcohol/drugs during sex, OR=1.48, p=.002.
Steroid use among sexual minority adolescent boys is prevalent and associated with HIV/STI sexual transmission risk behaviors.
