Perceptions of Neighborhood Partner Availability and Discordance Between Ideal and Actual Sex Partner Characteristics within a Cohort of Adolescent Females At High Risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections

Background: In impoverished communities, a limited pool of available men restricts females' choices for male partners.  Discordance between adolescents' ideal preferences and characteristics of actual sex partners has been associated with individual and partner STI-related risk behaviors.  

Objectives: To examine the association between perceptions of partner availability and discordance between ideal and actual partner characteristics and whether ideal partner preferences, actual partner characteristics and/or perceptions of partner availability change over time.

Methods:  A clinic recruited cohort of adolescent females (N = 92), aged 16-19 at baseline, were interviewed quarterly for 12 months using ACASI.  Participants ranked the importance of characteristics for their ideal main sex partner and reported perceptions of the availability of ideal sex partners in their neighborhood.  Paired t-tests examined the discordance between ideal and actual partner characteristics.  Random-intercept regression models examined repeated measures.

Results: On average, actual partner ratings were lower than ideal partner preferences for fidelity, equaled ideal preferences for emotional support and exceeded ideal preferences for social/economic status and physical attractiveness.  Discordance on emotional support and social/economic status was associated with sex partner concurrency.  Participants perceived low availability of ideal sex partners.  Those who perceived more availability were less likely to be ideal/actual discordant on fidelity [OR=0.88, 95%CI: 0.78, 1.0].  Of actual partner characteristics, only physical attractiveness declined; neither ideal partner preferences nor perceptions of partner availability changed over 12 months.  

Conclusions: Current main sex partners met or exceeded ideal partner preferences in all domains except fidelity.  Discordance on fidelity was associated with perceiving low availability of ideal partners.  

Implications for Programs, Policy, and Research: Despite perceiving low availability of ideal partners, adolescent females did not compromise their ideal preferences for most characteristics.  If emotional needs are met, adolescents may tolerate partner concurrency in areas of limited partner pools.  Future interventions should address the social context of STI risk.