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Revision with unchanged content. This book examines the incidence rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among minority group teenagers in the United States and among a dults in the United States and China. The focus is on general trends and pat terns in the US compared to those in China. Research questions include wheth er or not the early onset of sexual activity is directly related to the in ci dence of STI transmission among Americans. Additionally, analyses of the Chi nese population address the question of whether or not a hidden e pi de mic exists with regard to STI transmission rates. The data analysed offer un ique insights as they contain information on sexual behaviour for both po pu la tions as well as urine results for the Chinese. Results are presented in de scrip tive tables and through the use of logistic regression. It is important to study these trends within the U.S. and abroad in China for ma ny reasons. These include lifelong difficulties and complications such as loss of fertility. Furthermore, STI infection amplifies the transmission rate of HIV/ AIDS and should be studied specifically for this reason, if none other.

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M.S., Doctoral Candidate, Department of Sociology, Texas A&M University: specializations include demography, health, inequality, immigration, and quantitative methods.

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