HIV and STI risk behaviors, knowledge, and testing among female adult film performers as compared to other California women

Abstract

A cross-sectional structured online survey was self-administered to a convenience sample of current female adult film performers via the Internet; bivariate analyses compared HIV and other STI risk behaviors, knowledge, and testing in female adult performers to California Women's Health Survey respondents. 134 female adult film performers (mean age 27.8 years) were compared to the 1,773 female respondents (mean age 31.3 years) to the 2007 CWHS. Female performers initiated sex on average 3 years younger and had 6.8 more personal sexual partners in the prior year than other California women. The majority of performers reported HIV and Chlamydia testing (94 and 82%, respectively) in the prior 12 months. They more likely to use condoms consistently in their personal life than other California women (21 vs 17%), though this difference disappeared after controlling for other variables. Adult performers are routinely tested for HIV and Chlamydia, yet they have multiple sexual partners and use condoms inconsistently. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.