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Twenty-one percent of all patients with AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) were diagnosed between age 20 and 29. Given the latency period for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection, this means that many persons with AIDS became infected as teenagers. The incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and drug use is high in this age group, suggesting that adolescents are at great risk for contracting AIDS. Two telephone surveys of Massachusetts teens, aged 16 to 19 years, were conducted in 1986 and 1988. The numbers of participants was 860 in 1986 and 1,762 in 1988. During the two-year interval, the number of teenagers who had discussed AIDS in school increased from 52 to 82 percent, and students were better informed about how AIDS is transmitted. Self-reported use of intravenous drugs dropped from 1 percent to 0.1 percent. In 1986, 2 percent used condoms to prevent AIDS, while in 1988 this figure had risen to 19 percent. But in the second survey, 37 percent of sexually active teenagers said they never used condoms and 33 percent used them only sporadically. The percentage of teenagers who reported having sexual intercourse in the past year also increased, from 55 to 61 percent. It was concluded that AIDS prevention education at school and by the media may prompt some teenagers to adopt safer lifestyles, but other adolescents may need personal counseling. Physicians may be particularly effective at convincing teenagers to change their behaviors; those who had talked with a physician about HIV were much more likely to use condoms. But contact with a physician did not guarantee this effect, since 80 percent saw a physician but only 13 percent were counseled by the physician about AIDS. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Abstract. Adolescents are a group at high risk for exposure to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Results of a random-sample survey of 860 adolescents 16 to 19 years of age, in Massachusetts indicate that many adolescents are still misinformed or confused about AIDS and AIDS transmission. Of the adolescent respondents, 70% said they were sexually active (having sexual intercourse or other sexual contact) but only 15% of them reported changing their sexual behavior because of concern about contracting AIDS, and only 20% of those who changed their behavior used effective methods. Of both sexually active and nonactive adolescents, 8% did not know that AIDS is transmitted by heterosexual sexual intercourse. Psychoactive drugs other than alcohol and marijuana had been used by 13% of those responding, and 1% reported injecting drugs. Of those psychoactive drug users, 8% did not know that AIDS can be transmitted by injecting drugs. There was no significant difference in knowledge between the sexually active and nonactive adolescents concerning sexual behavior and AIDS transmission or between the drug users and nonusers concerning drug use and AIDS transmission. The majority of respondents knew a relationship exists between AIDS and blood, and other body fluids, but knowledge of the mode of transmission was limited. Hence, many adolescents, including those in the highest risk subgroups of sexually active or psychoactive drug users, did not know what sexual and drug precautions are needed to prevent transmission of the virus. School systems and health care providers should systematically educate this population about AIDS to counter the current misinformation and confusion. Additional surveys of adolescents can help monitor whether misunderstandings can be reduced and knowledge of the means necessary to avoid... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]