While the sexual health risks among young people of color in foster care have been well-documented, healthy sexual development in this population has been less examined. The current study explored the experiences of Black youth in foster care and the factors that influenced their safer sex practices. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 sexually active Black participants (18–22 years old) in foster care from a large, Midwestern city in the United States. Grounded theory methods were used to (a) construct a conceptual framework illustrating the conditions the youth experienced that influenced their safer sex efforts, and (b) describe different types of intimate relationships that reflected their sexual health practices. Using specific strategies, the majority of the youth overcame obstacles and participated in positive sexual health practices. More than half (59%) reported they were in an intimate relationship for at least 6 months and either abstained from sex, used condoms 100% of the time, or employed safer sex methods. The findings suggest Black youth in state care can engage in positive sexual health practices and form healthy intimate relationships.

虽然寄养中的有色人种年轻人的性健康风险已得到充分证明，但对这一人群的健康性发育的研究较少。目前的研究探讨了黑人青年在寄养中的经历以及影响他们安全性行为的因素。对来自美国中西部一个大型城市的寄养机构的 18 名性活跃的黑人参与者（18-22 岁）进行了定性访谈。扎根理论方法被用于 (a) 构建一个概念框架，说明青年经历的影响他们安全性行为的条件，以及 (b) 描述反映他们性健康实践的不同类型的亲密关系。使用特定的策略，大多数青年克服了障碍并参与了积极的性健康实践。超过一半 (59%) 的人报告说他们处于亲密关系中至少 6 个月，并且要么避免性行为，100% 的时间使用安全套，要么采用更安全的性行为方法。研究结果表明，在国家护理中的黑人青年可以参与积极的性健康实践并形成健康的亲密关系。