The average teenager feels invincible and has little fear of becoming HIV+. Most believe that HIV only happens to other people. However, many teens are becoming infected. All teens need to take HIV seriously, get educated, and be tested if their behaviors put them at risk of becoming infected.

Teens and young adults make up the largest number of HIV cases reported in recent years. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimate that there are at least 15,000 HIV+ young people between the ages of 13 to 24 years old living in the U.S. Yet, most HIV+ teens remain unaware of their infection, or that they were even at risk for HIV.

Given this information, teens need to be aware of the factors that put them at risk. Awareness helps teens protect themselves and their peers. Teens most at risk for HIV are:

• Young men who have sex with men (MSM)
• African-American teen girls and other racial minorities
• Runaway and homeless young people
• Young people who inject drugs
• Young people from poor backgrounds

Let’s face it, teens are having sex. In high schools across the U.S., nearly one-half (47 percent) of students state they are having sexual intercourse. For college students, the numbers are even greater—almost 80 percent of students between 18 and 24 have engaged in sexual intercourse.

One of the most common ways HIV is transmitted among teens is through unprotected sex - not using a condom during vaginal and anal intercourse. A reason for this is that teens are less likely to use a condom or other forms of protection during intercourse.

Leading this group are young men who have sex with men (MSM). MSM who become infected may transmit the virus to women as well as to men. MSM are particularly at risk because they are:

• Less likely to tell others they are sexually attracted to men
• Less likely to be tested
• Less likely to know their own HIV status
• More likely to have one or more female partners

Not using condoms also put teens at risk for other sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). In fact, one-fourth of all STDs each year occur among teens. This is especially alarming because the presence of an STD greatly increases a person's likelihood of acquiring or transmitting HIV.

People who have an STD such as syphilis, genital herpes, Chlamydia, or gonorrhea are at greater risk for getting HIV during sex with infected partners. Consistently using condoms significantly reduces the chances of getting STDs.

HIV+ teens come from all different backgrounds; however studies show that people of color are at greater risk for HIV infection than are their white counterparts. For example:

• African Americans – who make up only 15 percent of American teenagers – accounted for 66 percent of new AIDS cases among teens in 2003
• Latino teens also make up a high number of HIV cases and accounted for 21 percent of new AIDS cases in 2003

Young women, especially minorities, are increasingly at risk for HIV infection through heterosexual or “straight” sex (sex between a male and female). According to a CDC study, the rate of HIV among young women aged 16–21 was 50 percent higher than the rate among young men in that age group. Young African-American women in this study were seven times as likely as young white women and eight times as likely as young Hispanic women to be HIV+.

Young women are at risk for sexually-transmitted HIV for several reasons:

• Not being aware of their partners’ risk factors
• Lack of power in relationships
• Having sex with older men who are more likely to be HIV+

HIV is transmitted from men to women much more easily than from women to men

Young people in the U.S. use alcohol and drugs at high rates. Many teens are curious about drugs and feel pressure from peers to try them. Teens are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

In 2005, 23 percent of high school students who had sex during the past three months drank alcohol or used drugs. Runaways and other homeless young people are at high risk for HIV infection if they trade sex for drugs or money.

Drug use can also increase the risk of HIV infection if needles are shared. This includes using needles for injecting drugs, skin-popping, injecting steroids, piercing the ears and body, and tattooing.

Most teens have heard about HIV at school and know some basic information. However, many teens would like to know more. Teens need accurate, age-appropriate information that includes the following:

• How to protect themselves
• Where to get tested for HIV
• What is AIDS and how it is spread
• How to talk with their parents and partners about HIV/AIDS
• How to correctly use a condom
• Abstinence

Parents can make a difference. CDC research has shown that early, clear parent-child communication regarding values and expectations about sex is important. Ongoing conversations about sex, HIV, STDs, and pregnancy prevention can help teens wait until they are older to have sex and make responsible decisions about sexual behaviors when they do start having sex. Awareness, education, and communication can minimize the risk of teens becoming HIV+.

So let’s start talking!

1		Kaiser Family Foundation. (2006). African Americans and HIV/AIDS: Retrieved July 2006 from http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/6089-03.pdf.
2		Kaiser Family Foundation. (2006). Latinos and HIV/AIDS: Retrieved July 2006 from http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/6007-03.pdf.
3		CDC. (2006). Healthy Youth: Sexual Risk Behaviors: Retrieved July 2006 from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/sexualbehaviors/index.htm.
4		CDC. (2006). HIV/AIDS Among Youth: Retrieved July 2006 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/youth.htm.
5		Kaiser Family Foundation. (2000). National Survey of Teens on HIV/AIDS: Retrieved July 2006 from http://www.kff.org/youthhivstds/upload/National-Survey-of-Teens-on-HIV-AIDS.pdf