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Background: Low male/female gender ratios may give males more power to establish relationship terms, such as safe sex and partner concurrency, and have been proposed as a factor in disproportionately high rates of HIV/STIs among non-Hispanic blacks.
Objectives: This research tests the hypothesis that students at high schools with fewer males than females have riskier sexual behavior using Add Health waves 1-3.
Methods: Preliminary research used splines and multi-level models, adjusting for respondents' age and race/ethnicity. In the 80 co-ed high schools in Add Health, the percentage of males was between 35% and 70% (10th percentile 46% and 90th percentile 53%). Sexual behavior and STI diagnoses were measured in 1995, 1996, and 2001 (ages 18--24).
Results: Both splines and glmm models find that males and females at high schools with ratios close to parity (i.e., 1:1) were most likely to have sex. Ratios below or above parity are associated with lower chances of any sexual activity. Among male non-virgins, the proportion reporting contraception at first sex increased proportionately with the proportion of males at the school. Among female non-virgins, the proportion reporting birth control at first sex increased proportionately with the males at school above parity. Below parity, females were more likely to use birth control.
Conclusions: Initial investigations suggest a relationship between sex and safe sex and the proportion of males in a high school, but the relationship is more complex than suggested by conventional theories. Subsequent research will identify mediating factors to explain these patterns such as females seeking partners outside their schools.
Implications for Programs, Policy, and Research: This research will identify factors that schools can control to reduce gender imbalances and reduce their impact where they exist, such as reevaluating disciplinary policies that exclude males.