Number of Sexual Partners and Social Disorganization: A Developmental Trajectory Approach

Abstract

Utilizing a developmental trajectory approach, this study examines whether or not the perceived presence of social disorganization within communities contributes to the experience of having multiple sexual partners. The sample consists of African-American self-reports (n = 402) originating from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79). Analysis centers on responses from individuals who were ages 15 to 17 in 1998, 17 to 19 in 2000, 19 to 21 in 2002, 21 to 23 in 2004, 23 to 25 in 2006, and 25 to 27 in 2008. Following trajectory analysis of their reported number of sexual partners and perceptions of social disorganization, three groups are identified, showing variations in perceptions and number of sexual partners. Overall, results from these groups indicate that perceived social disorganization among African Americans has some impact on their number of sexual partners. Implications and directions for future research concerning social disorganization and public health are discussed.

Notes

¹Missing data exists. The missing data are less than 3%. An attrition analysis, available from the second author on request, shows that those who are missing are no different with regard to number of sexual partners in the last 12 months and perceptions of neighborhood social disorganization than those that remained in the sample. The missing individuals were dropped from the study. The overall n = 402 observation.

#Partners = Number of Sexual Partners; SD = Social Disorganization; *p < .05, **p < .01.

*p < .05.

²It is recognized that the abstainer trajectory group for number of sexual partners includes three individuals. It is understood that this is woefully low. In our estimation of the trajectories, we were not able to disconfirm that this group was present in our data. In our estimation of the cross-tabulation, we did not have any choice but to include this group. Some may see this as a flaw, because the number of observations is below five for these cells. In our sensitivity analysis, available from the second author, however, we found that our chi-square results were robust and reliable.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Richard Tewksbury

RICHARD TEWKSBURY is Professor of Justice Administration at the University of Louisville. His research centers on the intersection of crime and sexuality, sexual offending, and experiential aspects of deviance and criminal justice processing.

George E. Higgins

GEORGE E. HIGGINS is an Associate Professor in the Department of Justice Administration at the University of Louisville. He received his Ph.D. in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2001. He is currently the editor of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. His most recent publications appear or are forthcoming in Journal of Criminal Justice, Deviant Behavior, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Youth and Society, and American Journal of Criminal Justice.

David Patrick Connor

DAVID PATRICK CONNOR is a doctoral student in Justice Administration at the University of Louisville. His research interests include crime and sexuality, sex offender registration and consequences, and criminal justice decision making.