DOIN' IT?
Know the Facts...Know the Stats
Adolescents, Sex and HIV
Adolescents and HIV:

Every hour of every day, one young American between the ages of 13-21 is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. They often don't know it.

Twenty-five percent of HIV transmission in the United States occurs sexually among youth under age 21.

More than 123,000 people in the United States have developed AIDS in their twenties. The delay between HIV infection and the onset of AIDS means that most of these young people were infected with HIV as teenagers.

There are an estimated 250,000 Americans who are unaware that they are HIV-infected, and experts think that half of them are young people.

In fact, it is estimated that only about 16 percent of youths infected with HIV are aware of their status vs. 60 percent of infected adults.

Hardest-Hit Teens:

In some communities, as many as one in 30 18- and 19-year-olds may be HIV-positive.

AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death among young people 15-24 years old and the leading cause of death in African Americans of the same age group.

Though African Americans and Hispanics each make up about 15 percent of U.S. teenagers, African Americans account for 49 percent of AIDS cases reported among those aged 13-19, and 67 percent of the HIV infections reported to date in this age group, while Hispanics represent 20 percent of AIDS cases among teens.

Two groups of young people at risk for sexual exposure to HIV account for roughly three-quarters of the adolescent epidemic: men who have sex with men, and heterosexual women -- particularly women of color -- infected through heterosexual sex.

At least half of the HIV infections reported last year among young men aged 13-24 resulted from exposure to the virus through sex with other men.

More females than males are now being diagnosed with HIV in the 13-19-year old-age group. v In fact, recent data indicate that approximately one-half (51 percent) of new AIDS cases among 13- to 19-year-olds are among women.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases:

Three million teens - or one out of every four sexually active teenagers - in the U.S. acquires a sexually transmitted disease (STD) each year.

Of the 12 million Americans with STDs, about two-thirds are people under age 25.

An HIV-negative person with an STD is 2-5 times more susceptible to HIV. An HIV-positive person who has an STD can be more infectious and more easily transmit HIV to an uninfected partner. This "interaction" may be responsible for the explosive growth of HIV in some populations, including young people.

Teen Attitudes About HIV/AIDS and Other STDs:

A recent survey of teens and their parents reveals that the only item on which both groups agree is their number one concern: the threat of AIDS and STDs.

Most teens (81 percent) say that AIDS is a serious problem for people their age; African-American and Latino teens are more likely to view AIDS as a very serious problem than white teens (63 percent of African Americans and Latinos respectively, compared to 43 percent of whites).

More than half of all teens (56 percent) say they are personally concerned about becoming infected with HIV; African American and Latino teens express higher personal concern than white teens (70 percent, 76 percent and 51 percent respectively).

However, surveys also show that while teens say HIV/AIDS is a serious problem about which they are personally concerned, they don't act on these fears.

Also, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of 15-17 year olds say that they do not know where to get tested for HIV.

Sexual Activity/Behavior:

Half of all 9-12th grade students have had sexual intercourse, reflecting a decline during the last decade from 54 percent in 1991 to 50 percent in 1999.

By 12th grade, 65 percent of American youth are sexually active, and one in five has had four or more sexual partners.

Condom Use:

According to a recent survey, the percentage of sexually active high school students who say they used a condom the last time they had sex has increased from 46 percent in 1991 to 58 percent in 1999.

Another study says that 46 percent of our youth report using condoms all of the time, while 25 percent say they use them nearly all the time.

Self-reported condom use is at 63 percent in 9th grade and steadily declines with each grade to 50 percent for high school seniors.