<sarcasm>
Wow what a startling find - who'd have thought that!
</sarcasm>
Looking back over your sexual encounters, dear reader - how many of
you can remember having a sexual encounter that didn't involve drugs?
How do teetotalers like Nate get it off with other people? Or is Nate
a monk?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
<http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/daily/2003/Aug-17-Sun-2003/news/news1.html>
Teen survey finds drug use, sex are linked
Sunday, August 17, 2003
By MAILE CANNON/ West Hawaii Today
Teenagers who use drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, are three
times more likely to be sexually active than non - users, according to
a survey done by high school interns at the West Hawaii AIDS
Foundation.
Teenage boys and girls who use drugs are 3.2 and 2.7 times more likely
to be sexually active, respectively, than their non - using
counterparts, according to the survey's statistics.
The survey, taken anonymously and conducted by a team of high school
interns, was launched to assess the AIDS awareness needs of West
Hawaii teens, said Karen Carder, West Ha - waii AIDS Foundation
prevention outreach co - ordinator. The organization wants to
establish a youth outreach program, something with which it hasn't
been too successful in the past, she said.
The organization's five interns, all students of Konawaena and
Kealakehe High Schools, surveyed 304 West Hawaii teens, ages 13 - 18,
in local "hang outs," such as Lanihau Center, Alii Drive and the movie
theaters, Carder said.
Findings from the survey also indicate teens' attitudes toward
protection from sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, AIDS
prevention and drug use.
Of the 107 sexually active teenagers surveyed, 58 said they use
protection all of the time, while 13 said never; 35 said they use
birth control all of the time and 48 said never. The majority of
responses fell into the extremes of all of the time and never. The
majority of the sexually active teenagers also said getting birth
control and protection was easy or pretty easy.
Of the 304 West Hawaii teenagers surveyed, 163 said protection is the
best way to prevent AIDS and 100 said abstinence; 20 said they didn't
know how. More non - sexually than sexually active teenagers said
abstinence was the best way to prevent AIDS.
Alcohol was the most prominent drug in the survey, with 91 teens
reporting use, followed by marijuana (91), then tobacco (38) and 182
teens said they didn't use any substance.
The last question on the survey asked teens what they believed to be
the top three biggest problems they face in West Hawaii. The most
frequent answers were drugs, sex, alcohol, pregnancy and peer
pressure.
Family dynamics, grade point averages and future aspirations were not
included in the survey.
Intern Erin Varney, 15, a Kealakehe High School sophomore, said she
wasn't too surprised by the survey's results. "There's not much to do
in Kona," she said, so people get into drugs and sex.
Another intern, Juliane Shindo, 17, a senior at Kona - waena, said she
didn't realize how little younger teens knew about AIDS. "Some of them
said they thought you could get AIDS from kissing. That's not true,"
she said.
Shindo joined the project as an opportunity to pursue two of her
interests: community service and medicine.
Simpson Leung, 17, another Konawaena senior, also became an intern
because of an interest in health and medicine. He said the hands - on
project taught him something more about AIDS awareness, however.
He said getting involved is important for young people. "If I just sit
back and watch what happens, nothing will get done," he said.
All of the interns interviewed said they learned a lot more about AIDS
and its prevention from this project than what was ever taught in
school.
Each intern devoted six hours a week, including weekly group meetings
and workshops and earned a stipend of $200 for the duration of the six
- week project.
The survey project, STAAR, an acronym for surveying teens for AIDS
awareness research, was spearheaded by Janelle Ishida, 22, a recent
Stanford University graduate who came to the West Hawaii AIDS
Foundation on a fellowship awarded by the school's public service
center.
Ishida, born in Hilo and raised on Molokai, said her involvement in
youth advocacy groups in California led her to choose the project in
Kona. She majored in comparative studies in race and ethnicity and
feminist studies, she added.
Ishida said the connection between drug use and sexual activity
indicated in the survey is typical and is a key element in AIDS
prevention. People are more likely to make poor decisions about sex
while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, she said.
The teen interns agreed AIDS is a youth problem, as half of all new
HIV infections are in those under 25 years of age, according to the
West Hawaii AIDS Foundation.
Varney, Shindo and Leung said they plan to stay on at the organization
as volunteers, now the project is close to completion. Leung wants to
organize events, such as dances, to raise awareness in Kona's teens.
Ishida said she is pleased with the work completed and the results of
the survey will help make the West Hawaii AIDS Foundation eligible for
grants and funding to develop a permanent youth outreach program.
For further information about the STAAR project, AIDS awareness and
confidential HIV testing, call the West Hawaii AIDS Foundation at 331
- 8177.
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