Assistant Professor The University of Texas at Arlington Mansfield, Texas, United States
Background: Sexually transmitted infections remain a significant public health problem in the United States. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV diagnoses increased among persons aged 13–24, and youth make up 61% of chlamydia and 42% of gonorrhea cases, respectively. Consequently, about 60% of youth with HIV do not know they are infected, are not getting treated, and can unknowingly pass the virus on to others. This study aims to explore relationships between risky sexual behaviors, use of dating apps, and STI/HIV testing.
Methods: This study was a cross‐sectional online survey targeting young adult college students (N=122) aged 18 to 35 on a university campus in Northern Texas. We utilized a student listserv to email the survey link. Using the Sexual Risk Survey (Cronbach’s 𝛂 = 0.88), demographic and sexual history data. Chi-squared analyses were used to investigate differences among subsamples: 1) number of sex partners using dating apps vs nonapp users; 2) frequency of testing for STI/HIV and multiple sex partners using data app; 3) consistent condom use among dating app users.
Results: Chi-square test of independence was performed to examine the relationship
between the variables. H1: Those who used dating apps had a significant increase in the
number of sexual partners compared to nonapp users [χ2(1, N = 101) = 12.73, p < 0.01].
H2: Dating app users tested more frequently for STI/HIV than nonapp users [χ2(1, N = 101) =
13.8, p = 0]. H3: The relationship between consistent condom use and multiple sex partners
from a dating app was not significant [χ2(1, N = 101) = 0.011, p = 1].
Conclusion: Young adult college students presume to engage in risky sexual behaviors. The use of dating apps is significantly associated with an increasing number of sex partners. Though dating app users reported STI/HIV testing more frequently than nonapp users, given the high-risk nature of utilizing dating apps, safe sex discussion and free STI/HIV testing should be promoted on university campuses to improve sexual health outcomes. As these hypotheses were exploratory, future research with a larger sample size is needed to replicate these findings.
