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A new study found that homeless
youth who had friends were at lower risk of getting STDs and less likely to
participate in high-risk sexual behavior. Researchers studied 258 homeless
youth between ages 15 and 24 in San Francisco and found that those who had
same-sex contacts with stable housing in their social networks used condoms
more frequently and were less likely to take part in sexual activities with
intravenous drug users.
“The presence of same-sex
friendships and contacts living in stable homes seems to increase condom use,”
said study senior author Dr. Colette Auerswald, associate adjunct professor of
pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The study
also found that homeless female youth were less likely to have female friends
or know people with stable housing, but their risk factors improved when they
did, especially if they maintained family ties. “Young homeless men seem to
name these social network contacts more frequently than do young homeless
women. It will be important in future investigations to ask why this happens,”
Auerswald said.
There is a need to increase
mainstream contacts and same-gender friendships, according to lead author Dr.
Annie Valente, who conducted the research while a medical student at UCSF. “It
also emphasizes how same-gender friendships and family ties may be effective
tools in our efforts to improve the health of homeless youth,” she said.
The full report ”Gender Differences
in Sexual Risk and Sexually Transmitted Infections Correlate with Gender
Differences in Social Networks Among San Francisco Homeless Youth,” was
published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health
(doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.05.016).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus.
To learn more about The Friends of
AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
