Are Adolescent Girls with Chlamydia Infection Notifying Their Partners?

Abstract

Objectives (1) To determine the proportion of inner-city adolescent girls diagnosed with chlamydial cervicitis who notify their sex partners; (2) to examine girls' attitudes and perceptions about partner notification and treatment; and (3) to assess whether or not girls knew if their partners were treated for chlamydia infection. Design/Methods Adolescent girls who had a positive DNA hybridization test for chlamydial cervicitis from March 2000 to May 2002 completed a 37-item self-administered survey assessing sexual behavior and partner notification, as well as the Rosenberg self esteem scale. Subjects completed the survey 1–3 months after the diagnosis of chlamydia infection. Results Fifty-five adolescent girls (46% Hispanic, 36% African American) aged 13–21 years (mean 18.3 years) completed the survey. The median age at first intercourse was 14 ( SD = 1.6); median number of lifetime sex partners was 4. Forty-one subjects (75%) notified their sex partners. The most common reasons for partner notification were“I did not want my sex partner to give the infection back to me”and“I wanted to let my sex partner know that he/she had given me the infection”. There was a trend toward increased notification if the girls were 18 years of age or older ( P = 0.07) or had only one lifetime sex partner ( P = 0.08). Of the 41 subjects who notified their partners, 22 (54%) reported that the partners were treated; 16 did not know, and three knew that partners were not treated. Conclusions The majority of inner-city girls in this study notified their partners about chlamydia infection. Self-protection from re-infection was an important reason given for notification and suggests that girls in committed ongoing relationships might be more likely to notify partners.