Survey: Teens Feel Pressure to Have Sex About AIDS

A new Kaiser Family Foundation survey of 650 13- to 18-year-olds confirms again that the majority of teenagers will have had sexual intercourse by age 18, and nearly half of them reported feeling pressured into sexual relationships at some point. Many worry about pregnancy and disease, including HIV, yet 58 percent reported that they did not use condoms every time they engaged in sex, and 40 percent indicated that they did not discuss disease prevention with their partner.

Kaiser noted that three million teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases annually and that 25 percent of Americans with HIV are under the age of 22.

- Sandy Bartlett, Information/Education Coordinator, ASA

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ASA Info Line: 458-AIDS