Teenagers and Safe Sex Despite efforts to educate youth regarding safe sex, the practice of safer sex is still not at optimum levels. This is due to several factors, but chief among these is the belief of "invincibility" among youth, the belief that "it won't happen to me." In order to implement effective campaigns to increase safe sex practices in teenagers, education efforts must be directed to combat this false notion of safety, and problem-solving skills must be taught to facilitate the implementation of this knowledge.

Although sex education is a component in most schools' curricula, there is some question about the effectiveness of its message regarding safe sex. Since "by age 17 about half of both males and females report having had sexual intercourse" (Bee et al., 2003, p300), the necessity of delivering accurate information about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV / AIDS transmission is critical.

Bennett and Murphy (1997) point out that, although we may assume safe sex knowledge among teenagers to be adequate, "the low prevalence of safer sex practices may still, in part, be attributable to a lack of knowledge." (Bennett & Murphy, 1997, p70). They consider this possibility based upon research that has been done (Wenger et al. In Bennett & Murphy, 1997) that indicates even when a person considers their sexual behavior to have been "safe," in many cases it was not. This indicates that the foundation of any targeted campaign to reduce HIV transmission in teenagers must have accurate information as a prerequisite.

When HIV transmission is the issue, getting youth to use condoms is the major goal. However, even when teenagers express the intention to use condoms, research indicates that they often do not.
There is one area in which people's attitudes are often inconsistent with their behavior, even though the consequences can be fatal. The inconsistency takes the form of their having positive attitudes toward using condoms, expressing intentions to use condoms, but then failing to actually use them in sexual encounters. (Aronson et al., 2004, p233).

Targeting such high risk behavior as unprotected sex seems like a simple solution, however, as Aronson points out, even affecting teenagers' attitudes doesn't necessarily lead to a change in the behavior.

For the purposes of the first goal of a HIV / AIDS campaign aimed at youth, the education component would ideally be administered in schools. This could be incorporated as part of the curriculum and would reach most teenagers in question. However, education campaigns to date have fallen short of their goals and would need some changes to be more effective. A more accurate assessment of the risks associated with unsafe sex should be included so teens appreciate the data that supports the message. Different delivery media have also proven to be effective. Videos that inform and encourage situational coping skills have been shown to work.…