Sexual Risk Behavior Among Urban Women of Childbearing Age: Implications for Clinical Practice

Cox's interaction model of client health behavior was used as an organizing framework to describe the demographic characteristics, motivation, problem-solving, self-esteem, and sexual risk behaviors among urban women of childbearing age ( N = 125; average age = 32 years). Eighty-five percent of the women were African American. Sexual risk behaviors were defined as more than one sex partner and not using a condom. Eight women were at the highest risk in that they reported having more than one sex partner and not using condoms. Participants reported low self-esteem, intrinsic motivation, and adequate problem-solving abilities. Motivation scores were significantly different based on number of sex partners ( t = 2.26, p = .03). Women with more than one partner had lower scores compared to women with only one partner. There was a significant variation in reported self-esteem among women who used condoms ( t = 2.36; p = .22). Women who did not use condoms reported lower self-esteem than women who said that they used condoms.