Preventing HIV/AIDS among adolescents: schools as agents of behavior change
Article Abstract:
Different measures need to be taken to reduce the risk of HIV infection among teenagers. The incidence of HIV infection has increased significantly among teenagers, especially among those who African-American. The most effective method for preventing HIV infection is sexual abstinence, but many teenagers are having sex at a young age. The likelihood of abstinence is low among adolescents who have already had sex. A research study found that a school-based AIDS prevention program reduced high-risk sexual behavior among teenagers. Students who participated in the program were more likely to use condoms consistently, had fewer sexual partners and were less likely to have a high-risk partner. Another strategy may be to use peer-educators to inform other teenagers about the prevention of HIV infection and AIDS. This type of program has been effective for teaching teenagers about different types of substance abuse.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
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AIDS risk reduction among a multiethnic sample of urban high school students
Article Abstract:
A special course on AIDS prevention may reduce high-risk behavior among urban high school students. Among 1,201 New York City high school students from different ethnic groups in the 9th through 11th grade, 667 completed a special course on AIDS prevention and 534 did not receive any formal instruction on AIDS prevention that semester. Of the 867 students who were surveyed about their sexual behavior three months after the course was offered, 477 had completed the course and 390 had not. Students who completed the course were more likely to have changed their sexual behavior during the three-month follow-up period than those who had not. These changes included abstinence from sexual intercourse, consistent condom use, involvement in a monogamous relationship and avoidance of high-risk partners. The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases was lower among the students who completed the course.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1993
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Preventing sexually transmitted infections among adolescents: a clash of ideology and science
Article Abstract:
Public policy to prevent teenagers from contracting HIV should be based on scientific evidence rather than ideology. When Congress passed the Welfare Reform Act, the bill included matching federal money for states that implemented programs teaching teenagers to abstain from sex. But a 1998 study found that abstinence is only effective in teenagers who have not begun to have sex. Sexually experienced teens respond better to programs encouraging condom use and other safe sex practices. These programs have been shown to be effective whereas there is little evidence to support abstinence.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1998
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