Neighborhood Social Processes and Adolescent Sexual Partnering: A Multilevel Appraisal of Anderson’s Player Hypothesis

An increasing amount of sociological research is directed at unpacking the social processes behind neighborhood effects on youth behavioral outcomes. The goal of the current study is to build upon these prior efforts and advance research on neighborhood cultural mechanisms and adolescent sexual-partnering behaviors. We formulate and test a series of multilevel hypotheses informed by Anderson’s research on the relationship between neighborhood cultural processes and multiple sexual partnering or “player-like” sexual behavior. The hypotheses are tested using data from a multisite sample of African American adolescent males from the Family and Community Health Study. Results from a series of multilevel models provide evidence of both contextual and indirect effects of neighborhood culture on sexual partnering; moreover, these effects are conditioned by neighborhood structural deprivation.