Teens know how to prevent STDs, but many don't apply this knowledge

 

Everyone should practice safer sex, but teens and young adults need to be particularly careful. That is because individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 make up only 25 percent of the sexually active population, but account for nearly half of all new sexually transmitted disease (STD) cases each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recently, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh conducted a study, which found that while teens are aware of how to prevent STDs, they often do not practice safer sex.

Futurity.org reported on the findings, which showed that although teens understand how STDs are transmitted and the best ways to protect themselves from them, they claim abstinence or consistent condom use is unlikely or difficult to implement. According to the scientists, these findings show that media campaigns aimed at encouraging young people to practice safer sex need to change.

"The adolescents we spoke with consider having sex at their age normal and abstinence unlikely for teenagers. With this information in mind, we need to change our messaging and provide tools that can be implemented to help adolescents think more critically about their choices," said researcher Aletha Akers, quoted by the news source.

Interestingly, the study found that girls use STD testing as a way to determine if their partner is remaining faithful to them. If the results show that the girls are STD-free, they feel confident that their boyfriend has not been sleeping with others because he has not transmitted an infection to them. This and other findings from the study should be used to create new campaigns that stress to teens that preventing STDs is an important part of sexual activity, and that STD testing should be used to learn more about one's health status.