Online Program

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Wednesday, January 10
Wed, Jan 10, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Crystal Ballroom CD & Prefunction
Welcome Reception & Poster Session I

WITHDRAWN: Using Latent Class Analysis to Explore Health-Risk Behaviors in Low-Income, Urban Adolescents (304266)

Constance Lau, University of Southern California 
Bret Moulton, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health 
Luanne Rohrbach, University of Southern California 

Keywords: latent class analysis, survey data, adolescent health

Risky behaviors such as experimentation with substance use and sexual risk-taking are widely known to emerge together during adolescence. However, most studies examine these behaviors in isolation. This study aims to examine the co-occurrence of substance use and sexual behaviors through a latent class analysis of 9th grade students. The sample (n=2,261) is comprised of Latino and African American youth from an urban, socioeconomically disadvantaged community where these adverse health behaviors are more likely to be reported. Four classes of risk behavior engagement yielded the best overall fit to the data and were identified as: substance use only (35%); pre-sexual behaviors only (7%); low levels of risky behaviors engagement (38%); and high levels of risky behaviors engagement (19%). Multinomial logistic regression revealed that depression, gender, household profile, and ethnicity significantly impact the probability of class membership. The results of this study can provide impetus for development of interventions and policies that target multiple risk behaviors in populations most at risk for adverse health outcomes.