SYNOPSIS

Objectives. Education has long been considered a protective factor against sexual risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among adoles-cents; however, few have explored this association and determined differences across racial/ethnic groups of young adult females on a national scale. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe the association between education and STI diagnosis among a national sample of black and white young adult females and (2) examine racial differences in this association. Methods. We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to assess the association between education and chla-mydia, gonorrhea, and/or trichomoniasis (self-reported and assay-diagnosed) in 2001–2002 using logistic regression analysis. Results. After adjustment for risk behaviors, education was inversely associated with any assay-diagnosed STI, but this association was nonsignificant among black women for self-reported STI. Additionally, black females enrolled in, or who graduated from, college had significantly higher predicted probabilitie