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Geri R. Donenberg, Roberta Paikoff, Willo Pequegnat, Introduction to the Special Section on Families, Youth, and HIV: Family-Based Intervention Studies, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Volume 31, Issue 9, October 2006, Pages 869–873, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsj102
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1University of Illinois at Chicago and 2National Institute of Mental Health
Received November 27, 2005; revision received January 4, 2006; accepted January 9, 2006
Every year, a new generation at-risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) emerges, posing unique challenges for prevention and intervention. Young people are now at the center of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic; 25% of STIs reported annually occur among youth, and around half of the people who acquire HIV become infected before they turn 25. AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in 15- to 24-year olds (National Center for Health Statistics, 2005). Most young people acquire HIV through unprotected sexual activity, and, thus, reducing adolescent sexual risk taking has become a national and international public health priority. Substance use also confers increased risk of exposure to HIV by impairing sexual decision-making and leading to inaccurate condom use. Unfortunately, rates of adolescent sexual behavior and substance use remain high. National surveys indicate that 60.7% of males and 62.3% of females report having had sexual intercourse by 12th grade, whereas only 67% of males and 48.5% of females report using a condom during their last sexual encounter (Grunbaum et al., 2004). Similarly, by 12th grade, males and females report high rates of alcohol (82.6 and 83.3%, respectively) and marijuana (51.7 and 44.9%, respectively) use, and notably 17.6% of females and 33.5% of males report using alcohol or drugs before last sexual intercourse (CDC, 2004). Reducing adolescent risky sexual and drug use behavior requires innovative solutions that are tailored to youths’ unique risk mechanisms. This special section describes four cutting edge prevention programs designed to reduce exposure to HIV/STIs among youth.
