Truth Be Told: Adolescents' Disclosure of Sexual Activity to Healthcare Providers

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe whether adolescent and young adult patients truthfully disclose sexual activity to providers during a sexual history and explore associations between disclosure and receipt of recommended services.

Methods: Data from the 2018 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior were used to describe self-reported disclsoure of sexually active 14- to 24-year-olds who had a health care visit in the previous year where a sexual history was taken (n = 196). We examined bivariate associations between disclosure and age, race/ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, and receipt of sexual health services.

Results: Most (88%) respondents reported telling their provider the truth about sexual activity. A higher proportion of the younger adolescents (14- to 17-year-olds) did not disclose compared with the 18- to 24-year-old respondents (25.4% vs 3.9%; p < .001). A higher proportion of patients who disclosed reported having a sexually transmitted disease test (69.6% vs 26.7%; p < .001); being offered a sexually transmitted disease test (44.3% vs 4.5%; p < .001); and being asked by providers about number of partners (54.3% vs 15.4%; p < .01).

Conclusions: Most young patients disclose their sexual history to their provider, but younger patients might be less likely to do so. Positive patient-provider relationships may encourage disclosure of sexual activity and support receipt of indicated sexual and reproductive health services.

Keywords: Adolescent clinical services; Adolescent sexual health; Patient–provider relationship; Sexual history.