Sexual initiation at early age: according to the survey done by the Center for Disease Control, an increased number of young people in modern age engage in sexual intercourse at a very tender age. In the report, 47 per cent of high school students reported to have had sexual intercourse and among them 7. 4 per cent reported to have had sexual intercourse before age thirteen; hence sexual education should be introduced at an earlier age, before the young engage in sexual behaviors. Homosexual transmission: most young people in the recent time engage in heterosexual behaviors especially those of minority races and ethnicity.
They are therefore at risk of contracting the disease. According to the data from the Center for Disease Control, 50 per cent of the disadvantaged youth and young women in the mid 1990s were reported to have the disease, and this rate was higher than young men in the same age group. Young women, therefore stand a higher risk of infecting the disease owing to their biological vulnerability, lack of knowledge of their partners’ status, multiple relationships and having sex with men who are much older than them.
MSM: As much as young MSM are at risk of contracting the disease, their risk factors differ from those who engage in heterosexual behaviors. According to a study by the Center for Disease Control, 55 per cent of young men did not disclose their sexual attraction towards other men. It is quite obvious therefore that MSM who are unable to disclose their sexual habits, are also hardly able to seek HIV counseling and testing; hence will not know when they get infected.
The likelihood of MSM to have more than one partner is also high hence those who become infected will also to both women and men. This among other factors therefore makes the education process irrelevant. Sexually transmitted diseases: the availability of a sexually transmitted disease increases the chances of the infected person to get or transmit HIV. Young people were found to have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases especially those of minority races and ethnicities.
Substance Abuse: most American youth engage in alcohol, tobacco and drugs at high rates and at tender ages. Whether one uses drugs casually or is an addict, he/she still stands high chances to engage in high risk behaviors like unsafe sex when they are under the influence of the drugs or alcohol. Those selling the drugs like young runaways and other homeless people are also at risk of infection if they exchange sex for drugs and money. Lack of Awareness According to research, some young people are not concerned of getting infected with the disease or not.
HIV education therefore has little or no impact to them, since they do not care about their status. However, proper information which is age relevant can be effective to adolescents. They should be taught and advised on how to talk to their parents and adults about HIV and AIDS. They should possess awareness of how to reduce the chances of getting infected, how to talk to their partners about the disease, where to get tested, as well as how to correctly use condoms. Still, they should know that abstinence is the only effective way to avoid infection.
Poverty and out of school youth: some African Americans and Hispanics live in poor conditions. It is obvious then that socioeconomic problems linked with poverty will include lack of access to proper or quality health care. This further decreases their ability to know their status; hence those infected continue to infect others unconsciously. Young people who drop out of school at an early age may lack proper sex education. They therefore become sexually active at tender ages and may even fail to use contraceptives or seek proper medical advice regarding the infection.