The target population is heterosexual, low-income African American men, ages 18 to 25, residing in San Francisco, California. In San Francisco, African American young adults are at greater risk of contracting gonorrhea infection than young adults of other races/ethnicities. Respectively, in 2010, the target population aged 15 to 19 years had an incidence rate of 2,301.2 and those aged 20 to 24 years had an incidence rate of 2,696.7 for gonorrhea. By comparison, in 2010, Caucasians ages 15 to 19 had an incidence rate of 152.8 and those ages 20 to 24 had an incidence rate of 382.4 for gonorrhea. Therefore, the rate of gonorrhea in San Francisco exceeds those of Los Angeles, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), state of California, New York, NY MSA, and the United States in 2010 (2012). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Increasingly, investigators are seeking to identify determinants of STI acquisition among young adults from condom/prophylaxis nonuse and volume of sexual partners. Investigators then began to focus on understanding exposure to infected partners by exploring characteristics of young adults' sexual networks. Research suggests that young adults whose sexual partners have sex with other partners are more vulnerable to exposure to an STI. In contrast, these studies are limited. The target population resides in a community with high STI prevalence, whose sexual partners have other sexual partners outside their local network. Therefore, their local network is more likely to have at least one sexual partner infected with gonorrhea. Since exposure to an STI is linked to the presence of sexual ties between one's recent sexual partners and the community. Furthermore, there are also notable racial inequities in incarceration rates in the target population, partly due to the war on drugs, including racial biases in arrests and sentencing, and other structural factors. In San Francisco, 6% of the residents are black, but 56% of the prison population is black. African Americans, ages 18 to 25, represent the largest portion of prisoner demographics (2013). This disproportionate incarceration of Black males, in part, disrupts sexual networks and is hypothesized to play an essential role in racial disparities in STDs. It suggests that a history of incarceration is a clear risk factor for STI/HIV and sexual risk behaviors. Social control theory proposes an explanation for the relationship between STI rates and crime rates that assumes that crime erodes community unity and perceptions of social control. , thus building an environment conducive to higher rates of risky sexual behavior and sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, the primary policy response to rising crime trends in the United States involved the incarceration of large portions of residents in urban neighborhoods, further eroding open avenues of social control, cohesion, capital, and collective efficacy. Research suggests that neighborhoods that fit these sociological profiles have higher rates of risky sexual behavior and sexually transmitted diseases. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Despite the accumulation of research on community factors,.