"Best Bets" to Prevent Contracting STDs:
Emphasize Risks of Having Multiple Partners

Black and white women with more than five lifetime sexual partners are more likely to report a bacterial STD and to have been treated for PID than women with only one lifetime sexual partner (Miller, Cain, et al., 1999). In addition, women who had more than one partner in the past year were more likely to report having used condoms for STD prevention than women who had fewer partners (Finer et al., 1999). In a study of condom use among inner-city women, Santelli et al., (1996) found that women who reported more than one partner are more likely to use a condom in their "other" relationship than in their main or regular relationship. This finding suggests that contraceptive use may differ with primary and secondary partners. In addition, recent studies of condom use among males and inner-city females suggest lower levels of condom use in cohabiting relationships or in relationships that eventually resulted in cohabitation or marriage (Ku et al., 1994; Santelli et al., 1996). However, studies do not indicate whether another contraceptive method was used at first sex by their female partners.