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Young females engaging in multiple-person sex

Rothman EF. J Urban Health. 2011;doi:10.1007/s11524-011-9630-1.

Issue: February 2012

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Researchers have found that one in 13 adolescent females reported a sexual experience involving three or more people — an emerging public health concern.

In an exploratory, cross-sectional study, Emily F. Rothman, ScD, of Boston University School of Public Health, and colleagues aimed to assess the prevalence, health correlates and context of multi-person sexual encounters, defined as a sexual activity involving three or more people that is either consensual (group sex) or forced (gang rape) among 328 females aged 14 to 20 years seeking health care from an urban clinic between April and December 2006.

Results from an anonymous computer-assisted survey indicated that 7.3% of females with an average age of 15.6 years reported having had a multi-person sexual experience.

Most females reported a single experience, whereas 21% reported multiple experiences. Of which, 52% reported being pressured to engage in multi-person sex; 43% reported being threatened or forced; and 45% reported that a condom was not used by at least one male participant in the most recent multi-person sexual event.

After the data were adjusted for potential confounders, the researchers found multi-person sex was associated with cigarette smoking (OR=3.83; 95% CI, 1.56-9.44); sexual initiation before 15 years of age (OR=2.50; 95% CI, 1.04-5.98); sexually transmitted infection diagnosis (OR=2.55; 95% CI, 1.08-6.03); dating violence victimization (OR=4.43; 95% CI, 1.68-11.69); childhood sexual abuse victimization (OR=4.30; 95% CI, 1.83-10.07); and recent exposure to pornography (OR=4.79; 95% CI, 1.91-11.98).

“Additional study of the perpetration and prevention of adolescent multi-person sex is urgently needed,” the researchers wrote.

Disclosure: The research was supported by grants from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control/CDC (U36/CCU300430-23), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (1K01AA017630-01A1) and the W.T. Grant Foundation.

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