Individual and structural predictors of Human Papillomavirus: race as an interaction effect and the construction of racialized sexualities
Date
2018
Authors
Satterfield, Leslie, author
Opsal, Tara, advisor
Lacy, Michael, committee member
Martinez, Doreen, committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, and has different prevalence rates among different gender, racial, ethnic, and class groups. Many studies have identified number of sex partners as the most predictive variable for HPV status which implies individual behavior is responsible for differences in HPV rates between social groups. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the extent to which individual and structural factors correlate with HPV status, and whether those correlations vary by race. This study uses public-use data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from years 2011-2014. Logistic regression models which included individual risk behaviors, structural resources, and interactions with black and white race showed that number of sex partners has a different effect on HPV risk for black and white women. These findings suggest that citing number of sex partners as the primary predictor of HPV risk may falsely universalize whiteness, and pathologize black sexuality.