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Characteristics of Young Bisexual Women’s Sexual Relationships with Male Partners

Characteristics of Young Bisexual Women’s Sexual Relationships with Male Partners. JM Marrazzo , S Cassels, K Ringwood University of Washington, Seattle WA jmm2@u.washington.edu. Background. Same sex behavior between women not uncommon

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Characteristics of Young Bisexual Women’s Sexual Relationships with Male Partners

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  1. Characteristics of Young Bisexual Women’s Sexual Relationships with Male Partners JM Marrazzo, S Cassels, K Ringwood University of Washington, Seattle WA jmm2@u.washington.edu

  2. Background • Same sex behavior between women not uncommon • National Survey of Family Growth: A-CASI interview of national sample of 12,571 U.S. adults (2002) • 11% of women 15 - 44 years old reported lifetime same-sex behavior and, during the last year, 4.4% • Translates to 2.29 million U.S. women 18 to 44 years of age who self-identify as either homosexual or bisexual • HPV, HSV, syphilis, HIV, trichomoniasis transmitted • Most self-identified lesbians have had sex with men; some continue to do so • Some male partners are bisexual/gay • Sexual network analysis not yet applied to this group of women • Concurrency, nature of partnerships Marrazzo 2000; Diamant 1999, 2000; Bailey 2003

  3. Methods • Women recruited to research clinic • 16-29 years • Sex with woman (prior year) • Recruited through ads (self-referred) and partners already in study • Underwent computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) at enrollment • Demographics, sexual identity • Lesbian, bisexual, queer, straight, other • Detailed parameters collected for last 3 female and last 3 male partners within prior 3-month timeframe • Sexual behaviors, relationship initiation, description of sex partners (age, race, education, sexual history/identity)

  4. Methods • Concurrency analysis • Quantitative assessment of concurrent relationships by sex (female/female, female/male) • Mixing matrices • By age, sex, sexual identity, educational level

  5. Results: Characteristics of 238 Subjects Age (y) Race • Median age 25 years • ~20 % non-white with diverse racial representation N = 190

  6. Results: Characteristics of 238 Subjects Sexual Identity Prior Sex with Men N = 190 • Women who identified as queer or bisexual were significantly younger than those who identified as lesbian (24 vs. 26 years; P < 0.001) • Youngest women most likely to identify as other (median age, 22 years)

  7. Results: Partnerships Analyzed • 296 F-F partnerships • In general, women who identified as lesbians chose lesbian partners • Women who identified as queer chose bisexual partners • Generally age and race concordant (assortative) • 117 F-M partnerships • Most women chose straight men, regardless of their stated sexual identity • Male partners were younger than female partners (non-assortative with respect to age)

  8. Results 96 subjects (51% of those with prior sex with men) characterized sexual encounters with up to 3 male partners in prior 3 months Male Partner #1 Male Partner #2 Male Partner #3

  9. ResultsCharacteristics of Partnerships with Men Has your male partner had sex with a man? Count (number of relationships) 117 F-M relationships How likely is it that your male partner had sex with another male while with you? 18 total relationships

  10. ResultsConcurrent Relationships Number of overlapping relationships by type Number of relationships Concurrency by partnership type Number of subjects

  11. Conclusions • Young women with bisexual relationships deserve further study • Sexual identity • Related to age, possibly other factors • Concurrency • Most concurrency involved F-F and F-M relationships • Identity and sexual practices of male partners • Lack of condom use for vaginal sex • Anal sex not infrequent • 20% of women reported male partner likely to have had sex with another man • Significant risk of HIV/STI acquisition from male partners and introduction into network components involving female partners • In young women, sexual identity not always predictive of behavior

  12. Limitations • Subjects were self-referred or referred by partners • Limits on reproducibility, generalizability • However, excellent retention in prospective study and diverse sexual practices • Network analysis limited to single source report (egocentric design) • Future analyses to integrate responses of female partners also enrolled in study

  13. Future Analyses • Circumstances of partner selection • Meeting venues • Time from meeting to initiation of sex • Drugs, alcohol in context of initiation of sexual relationships • Contraceptive practices • Particularly in women who do not identify as heterosexual • Associations between concurrency and biological outcomes under study (STI, BV)

  14. Study personnel Nancy Dorn Dana Varon Lauren Asaba Susan Heideke Becca Hutcheson Acknowledgements Support • Martina Morris

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