Study Examines Attitudes of Black Youth Toward Sex

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FARAI CHIDEYA, host:

From NPR News, this is NEWS & NOTES. I'm Farai Chideya.

Not long ago, we told you about a national report that focused on the beliefs and actions of African-American youth aged 15-25. The study titled, "The Black Youth Project," picked the brains of young people regarding a variety of issues, from politics to pop culture.

One of those topics addressed in the study is especially controversial, that would be sex. According to the Black AIDS Institute, more than half of the annual new infections in this country are among 13 to 24-year-olds. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites in a recent study that young African-Americans reported the highest rates of having intercourse - 67 percent compared to 42 percent of whites.

So with that, we wondered what's on the minds of black youth when it comes to issues regarding sex? Back on the program with us is the study's lead researcher, Cathy Cohen. She's professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago.

Professor Cohen joins us from WBEZ in Chicago. Welcome.

Professor CATHY COHEN (Director, Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, University of Chicago): Thank you.

CHIDEYA: I know you led a national study that was recently released and you talked to 15 to 25-year-olds. And when you were on with us before, we spoke primarily about politics but not about sex. So with that, what is it that you learned most about African-American teens and youth and their ideas, thoughts and concerns about sex?

Prof. COHEN: We learned a number of different things, part of it having to do with the sexual behaviors. But I think some of the more interesting findings have to do with really their sexual attitudes. As you said in the intro, we do know that African-American youth or black youth are having more sexual intercourse than other young people.

We also know, however, that white young people tend to engage in oral sex more often than African-American youth or Latino youth. But I think we often don't kind of ask questions about how do they feel about sex. What do they think they need to know to make better decisions about sex? And that was one of the areas that we tried to probe in this research.

CHIDEYA: You compared the views of nearly 1,600 young people of different racial and ethnic groups in the study. And I understand that you found that 68 percent of blacks believe the government would do more to find a cure for AIDS if more whites were infected. Is that one of the things that we're talking about with attitudes regarding sex?

Prof. COHEN: That's one of the ideas here, is that, in fact, first of all, there's great cynicism, I think, about the government. So when we ask something not only about HIV and AIDS and the government's response to that, but when we ask, for example, should the government only be funding abstinence-only sex education, an overwhelming majority of young people said that that was the wrong governmental policy.

They believe, in fact, that the government should be funding sex education projects and programs that give a comprehensive understanding of sex. And really, 90 percent of young people across racial identities believe that, in fact, sex education should be mandatory in schools, 70 percent, at least, believe that in fact condom should be given out in schools. So these young people are telling us that, in fact, they want kind of complete information when making sexual decisions so that they can make healthy sexual decision.

CHIDEYA: They want the information, but do they understand the dangers of engaging in unprotected sex? And how does that compared to other ethnic groups?

Prof. COHEN: What we're finding among young people is that sex kind of serves some multiple purposes. Clearly, it's a part of the developmental process. Every young person goes through a process where in fact they engage at some level or to some extent in sex. But I think sex also works to provide a domain for young black people where they feel like they're in control and have some success. If you think about the fact that we are losing kind of good manufacturing jobs, that it's difficult for young blacks to have a good living wage jobs, that they suffer twice the unemployment, for example, that white people do, this is one of the areas, believe it or not, where they feel like they have great success, where they're in control and where they're pretty efficacious. And what I mean by that is young black people tell us that they're more able to talk to their partners about what they want to do and when they want to have sex. So they believe, in fact, that they have some control in this area.

Now, the reality is that they may believe that they have control but the consequences of kind of risky sexual decision making is evident in the disproportionate numbers of African-American youth who contract HIV and suffer from AIDS.

CHIDEYA: Through 2001, African-Americans accounted for nearly three quarters of the diagnosed HIV infections among 13 to 19-year-old girls and two thirds of 20 to 24-year-old women. Now have you seen any differences in the ways that black boys and black girls handle life choices when it comes to sex?

Prof. COHEN: Well, you know, it's interesting because in fact when we look at questions that ask about protection, repeatedly in kind of numerous studies we find that young black males say that they use condoms more often than, for example, young white males. I think one of the things we're finding is that although they are reporting that they use condoms, they don't use them consistently and they don't use them in what they consider to be serious relationships.

CHIDEYA: I just want to take some of the information you're giving us and put it in a different context. On a personal level, I come from a family with a lot of teachers, K through 12 teachers. And I hear stories all the time about six graders having sex, sometimes people even younger. And your study is really dealing with people who are just a little bit older. What do you think the implications of your work is about some of the things that even younger minors might face?

Prof. COHEN: Well, I think one of the things we have to kind of recognize is that these young people are inundated with images and ideas about sex. It's not only rap music videos, it's, you know, watching NBC or ABC and what are considered kind of mainstream television shows. Not to mention kind of HBO and Showtime. So they're getting the message that, in fact, sex is okay or at least it's a part of life pretty constantly.

I would say another kind of part of what our data suggests is that we have to figure out what sex is doing or how it's functioning in the lives of young black people. It's not just about pleasure, which is an important part of, again, human development. But I think it's substituting for other opportunities in areas of success that some young people actually have access to.

So if you don't think you're going to have a good job, if you believe that, in fact, your school doesn't have the resources it needs to really give you a proper education, you may try to figure out those areas where you can feel proud of yourself, or you can feel successful, or you can feel like you've dominated something. And unfortunately, I think in our society the realm of sex operates that way for too many young black Americans.

CHIDEYA: We've discussed a bit about sex education and abstinence-only versus other kinds of sex education. What role do you teen educators, peer educators play in this whole map of how teens think about sex?

Prof. COHEN: I believe that teen educators and peer educators are really kind of critical. It's important for family members to talk to the young people in their lives about kind of sexual decision making and the factors they face in trying to decide not only kind of about sex but intimate relationships.

But we found over and over again that it is much easier for young people to talk to other young people. They share, in many cases, the same culture. And I mean by culture kind of popular culture. They have access often to the same forms of technology and really understand that technology, so they understand MySpace and YouTube.

And they also share kind of the same difficulties and dilemmas about sex. The pressure from peers, the feeling of wanting an intimate relationship, how do you negotiate how far to go. And I think that's a really important intervention in terms of thinking about how to change some of the data and the trends around sex that we see that many find disturbing. It will undoubtedly come from families and from churches and even from schools. Some schools are critical here, but I think we really need to build an infrastructure of teen-peer educators who can talk to other young people.

CHIDEYA: Well, Professor Cohen, thanks so much.

Prof. COHEN: Thank you.

CHIDEYA: Cathy Cohen is a professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago.

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