Urban teenagers from low-income families face a rate of sexually transmitted disease. If these teenagers get a wide range of medical, social, educational and personal support and information from multiple sources, they are fairly adept at separating the good sense from the nonsense, scientists said. Unfortunately, that broad range of information and communication often doesn’t exist.
Surprisingly, few youth use or trust the Internet for information on sexual health.
The level of sexual activity at a young age and incidence of STDs, including HIV and AIDS, in low-income, urban black teenagers is high.
This group of teenagers faced influences and pressures, including choices to have sex, where people get information, and how that affects behaviour.
The most important progress can be made if various educational, religious and social support organisations make a more concerted effort to address issues collectively, within the constraints of their roles and belief systems.
More collaboration is required between family, schools, medical clinics, churches, and other entities that traditionally have not worked together.
The following steps are suggested for reducing the epidemics among the teens:
- Stressing abstinence at young ages is appropriate, but could be made far more effective, if youth are taught other forms of emotional interaction as an alternative to sexual intercourse.
- Sex education will be more effective, if sex is treated as a healthy part of life at appropriate ages and circumstances.
- Young women benefit strongly from families who have open lines of communication, talk about sex, monitor their activities and make it clear their health and safety was important.
- Surprisingly, many teenagers receive little accurate information about sex and sexual health.
- Sex education programs in schools are nearly universal and there is also strong participation in sex-related education from youth at community centres.
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