Sexual Health Experiences Among High School Students With Disabilities

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the sexual experiences of adolescents with and without disabilities. Methods: Data were from the 2015 and 2017 Oregon Healthy Teens survey, a state-wide representative sample of 11th grade students. We compared teens with and without disabilities on whether or not they had ever had sexual intercourse (N = 20,812). Among those who had ever had intercourse (N = 8,311), we used multivariable Poisson regression to measure the association between disability status and the prevalence of five sexual experiences. Results: After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, the prevalence of ever having had intercourse was 25% higher among teens with disabilities than among those without (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20–1.30). Among students who had had intercourse, the prevalence of having had intercourse before the age of 15 years (aPR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.14–1.47), having ≥ 2 lifetime sexual partners (aPR 1.13, 95% CI 1.07–1.19), having ≥ 2 sexual partners in the previous three months (aPR 1.23, 95% CI: 1.00–1.52), having used alcohol and/or drugs at the last intercourse (aPR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.10–1.48), and having condomless sex at the last intercourse (aPR 1.17, 95% CI: 1.08–1.27) was higher among students with disabilities than among students without disabilities. After accounting for sexual abuse, each of these associations was attenuated and most were no longer significant. Conclusions: Youth with disabilities are sexually active. Findings highlight the need for increased attention to sexual abuse prevention, sexual health promotion, and risk reduction efforts for this population.