Summary: STDs More Common among Teens in Single-Parent Homes

Adolescents living in two-parent home were less likely to report ever having had an STD.

• An analysis of Add Health data examined reported diagnosis of STDs among sexually-active teens – black, white, male, and female. Reported STDs were more common among adolescents not living in two-parent homes. Lower family income was only associated with STDs in the case of black males. Lower maternal education and nonprofessional maternal occupation were linked to higher STD rates in all groups but white females. Overall, the study concludes that socio-economic status is only a weak to moderate indicator of adolescent STD risks. The relationship between socio-economic status and STDs varies across race-gender groups.¹

¹Family Socioeconomic Status and Self-Reported Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Black and White American Adolescents, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Vol. 31, No. 9, 2004, pp. 533-541.