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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2008.133785v1 99/10/1886    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Sasaki, P. Y. Articles by Kameoka, V. A. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sasaki, P. Y. Articles by Kameoka, V. A. Related Collections HIV/AIDS Adolescent Health Asians Sexual Health Surveys Alcohol

Paula Y. Sasaki, PhD and Velma A. Kameoka, PhD

Paula Y. Sasaki and Velma A. Kameoka are with the Department of Psychology and the Social Sciences Research Institute, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Paula Y. Sasaki, c/o University of Hawaii, Manoa, Social Science Research Institute, Saunders 704, 2424 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822 (e-mail: psasaki{at}hawaii.edu). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

Objectives. We examined ethnic variations in high-risk sexual behaviors among Asian and Pacific Islander (API) adolescents in comparison with White adolescents.

Methods. We obtained data from the 2003 Hawaii Youth Risk Behavior Survey on 4953 students in grades 9 through 12. We conducted ² and logistic regression analyses on these data to examine the prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviors among Japanese, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, and White adolescents.

Results. We found significant ethnic variation in prevalence of high-risk sexual behaviors among API adolescents. Relative to White adolescents, Native Hawaiian adolescents were most likely to engage in lifetime sexual intercourse, recent sexual intercourse, and sexual initiation before age 13 years; Japanese adolescents were least likely to engage in these behaviors. Filipino adolescents were least likely to use substances before last sexual intercourse and condoms during last sexual intercourse.

Conclusions. Our findings suggest divergent patterns of risk among API ethnic groups, underscoring the heterogeneity of API subgroups and emphasizing the need for health disparities research on disaggregated API ethnic groups. The findings of such research should be used to design ethnically relevant interventions aimed at mitigating the negative health consequences of high-risk sexual behaviors.