NCJ Number
125798
Journal
State Legislative Report Volume: 15 Issue: 12 Dated: (June 90) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1990
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Mounting evidence suggests that AIDS is spreading rapidly among teenagers through unprotected sexual contact with an infected person or by sharing a needle with an infected person in the course of intravenous drug use.
Abstract
As of April 1990, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 5,484 young people between 20 and 24 years of age had been diagnosed with AIDS and that 500 youth between 13 and 19 years of age had AIDS. Experts agree that teenagers are at high risk of contracting AIDS because of their capricious and often risky behavior. Further, public health officials increasingly view teenagers as a conduit for transmission to the general population. To stop the spread of HIV infection among teenagers, States need to include AIDS prevention and education as integral parts of a comprehensive health education program for elementary and high school students. States also need to develop special educational outreach programs for hard-to-reach teenagers who engage in behavior that puts them at high risk of becoming HIV-infected. Generally, goals of AIDS prevention and education programs are to increase teenager awareness of AIDS and factors affecting their disease risk, describe how the disease is transmitted and what can be done to prevent its spread, dispel misconceptions about how AIDS is transmitted, encourage compassion toward people at high risk or people who have contracted HIV-related illnesses, and motivate adolescents to identify and change behavior that places them at risk. 31 references, 2 tables, and 1 figure.