Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Receipt Among Male Adolescents and Young Adults With Disabilities: Analysis of National Survey of Family Growth Data, 2011-2019.
Zionskowski K, Hoyle J, et al. • The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine • 2025
Young males with disabilities experience different patterns of sexual and reproductive health care than those without disabilities, with some aspects of SRH dialog more likely to occur but barriers remaining in accessing comprehensive SRH services.
Key Findings
Results
Overall, young males with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to report their doctor had asked them about sexual orientation and number of sexual partners.
Analysis based on 2011-2019 National Survey of Family Growth data focusing on males aged 15-25 years (n = 7,479)
This finding applied to the overall disability group compared to those without disabilities
Modified Poisson regression was used, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics
The analysis was restricted to sexually active males
Results
Young males with sensory or physical disabilities were less likely to have been asked about condom use compared to those without disabilities.
Adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) 0.85; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.84-0.85
This finding was specific to the sensory or physical disability subgroup
Condom use discussion was one of several SRH service receipt outcomes examined
The analysis controlled for sociodemographic characteristics
Results
Receipt of HIV testing differed by both disability status and age group, with disabled young adults ages 22-25 more likely to have been tested than nondisabled peers.
Disabled young adults ages 22-25 were more likely than nondisabled peers to have been tested (aPR 1.31; 95% CI: 1.30-1.31)
Disabled youth ages 15-18 were less likely to have received HIV testing than nondisabled peers in the same age group (aPR 0.95; 95% CI: 0.94-0.97)
Disabled youth ages 19-21 were also less likely to have received HIV testing than nondisabled peers (aPR 0.96; 95% CI: 0.95-0.96)
The pattern suggests an age-dependent reversal in the association between disability and HIV testing receipt
Background
Most prior research on sexual and reproductive health care and disability has focused on women, leaving a gap in understanding SRH care among males with disabilities.
The study was designed to address this identified gap in the literature
The study examined associations of both disability status and disability type with SRH service receipt
The sample included males aged 15-25 years (n = 7,479) from a nationally representative survey
Disability types examined included sensory or physical disabilities as a distinct subgroup
Methods
Chi-square tests and modified Poisson regression were used to analyze SRH care receipt by disability status among sexually active males aged 15-25.
Data source was the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), 2011-2019
Total analytic sample was n = 7,479 males aged 15-25 years
Analyses were restricted to sexually active males
Models were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics
Both disability status overall and disability type were examined as exposures
What This Means
This research suggests that young men with disabilities in the United States receive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care in different patterns compared to young men without disabilities. Using nationally representative survey data from 2011 to 2019 covering nearly 7,500 males aged 15 to 25, the researchers found that doctors were actually more likely to ask young men with disabilities about their sexual orientation and number of sexual partners. However, young men with sensory or physical disabilities were less likely to be asked about condom use, and younger disabled males (ages 15-21) were less likely to have received HIV testing than their nondisabled peers.
Interestingly, the pattern for HIV testing reversed among older young adults: disabled males aged 22-25 were more likely to have been tested for HIV than nondisabled peers in the same age group. This age-dependent pattern suggests that the relationship between disability and health care access may shift over the transition from adolescence to adulthood, possibly reflecting differences in health care settings or providers encountered at different life stages.
This research highlights that while some conversations about sexual health appear to happen more frequently for young men with disabilities, there are still gaps in comprehensive SRH services — particularly around condom use counseling and HIV testing for younger adolescents. Since most prior research in this area has focused on women with disabilities, these findings draw attention to a previously understudied group and suggest that health care providers and public health programs may need to pay closer attention to the specific SRH needs of male adolescents and young adults with disabilities.
Zionskowski K, Hoyle J, Stevens J, Valentine A, Akobirshoev I, Mitra M, et al.. (2025). Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Receipt Among Male Adolescents and Young Adults With Disabilities: Analysis of National Survey of Family Growth Data, 2011-2019.. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.06.011