From May 1989 through April 1990, 1,001 adult homosexual and
bisexual men attending sexually transmitted disease clinics were
interviewed regarding potentially abusive sexual contacts during
childhood and adolescence. Thirty-seven percent of participants
reported they had been encouraged or forced to have sexual contact
before age 19 with an older or more powerful partner; 94% occurred
with men. Median age of the participant at first contact was 10;
median age difference between partners was 11 years. Fifty-one percent
involved use of force; 33% involved anal sex. Black and Hispanic men
were more likely than white men to report such sexual contact. Using
developmentally-based criteria to define sexual abuse, 93% of
participants reporting sexual contact with an older or more powerful
partner were classified as sexually abused. Our data suggest the risk
of sexual abuse may be high among some male youth and increased
attention should be devoted to prevention as well as early
identification and treatment.