Concurrent sexual partnerships among African Americans in the rural south.

To investigate concurrent sexual partnerships among heterosexual African Americans, 18 to 59 years old, in rural North Carolina. Household interviews with persons randomly selected from the NC driver's license file were conducted to identify overlap among the 3 most recent sexual partnerships. Concurrency prevalence in the past 5 years was 53% (men) and 31% (women). Most (61%) respondents believed that a recent partner had had a concurrent partnership. Multivariate analysis revealed strong associations between concurrency and male gender, being unmarried, age of sexual debut, and incarceration of a sex partner. Concurrent partnerships may increase rates of heterosexual HIV among blacks in the rural Southeastern United States. Future research should examine the context that supports this network pattern.