Sexual Partner Accumulation From Adolescence to Early Adulthood in Populations With Physical Disabilities in the U.S.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the lifetime and pre-18 sexual partnering patterns of populations with physical disabilities from adolescence to early adulthood and how these patterns further vary by biological sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Methods: Data were from 13,458 respondents to Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Poisson regression models were used to assess differences in pre-18 and lifetime sexual partner counts among populations with physical disabilities compared with those without disabilities.

Variations in the timing of first sexual experiences among populations with physical disabilities in the United States.

Background: Timing of first sex has important implications for later sexual health, but little research has considered this in populations with physical disabilities.

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to examine timing of sexual experiences among populations with physical disabilities in the United States from adolescence to early adulthood, and how timing varies by biological sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. We hypothesized that those with physical disabilities would exhibit earlier initiation of each type of sexual activity compared to those without disabilities, but the degree of differences would depend on disability severity.