Skip Navigation


The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on June 7, 2005
The European Journal of Public Health 2005 15(3):300-304; doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki085
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
15/3/300    most recent
cki085v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dias, S. F.
Right arrow Articles by Gonçalves, A. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dias, S. F.
Right arrow Articles by Gonçalves, A. C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Infectious Disease

Preventing HIV transmission in adolescents: an analysis of the Portuguese data from the Health Behaviour School-aged Children study and focus groups

Sónia F. Dias, Margarida G. Matos and Aldina C. Gonçalves *

Correspondence: Sónia Dias, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Rua da Junqueira 96, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal, tel. +351 21 3652600, fax +351 21 3632105, Email: sfdias{at}ihmt.unl.pt

Background: There is recognition of the need to examine psychosocial and ecological determinants contributing to both risk and protective factors related to adolescents' sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS. Methods: The study utilized mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were collected from the Portuguese sample of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2002. Based on these results, 14 focus group discussions were conducted. Results: A substantial minority of young people continue to engage in high-risk practices. Thus, female gender, older age, reporting easy to talk with father, not getting drunk and not getting involved in fights are significantly associated with protected sexual behaviour (using condom during last sexual intercourse). According to these results, being female and a comprehensive grade student are both related to a significantly more positive attitude towards infected people. It was concluded that these adolescents view sexual behaviour, sexual partners and condom use as elements within a complex script that governs heterosexual interactions. Several themes related to condom used emerged. Despite HIV/AIDS knowledge, young people underestimate their own risk of becoming infected with HIV. The majority of adolescents believe that HIV-infected people experience discrimination and social exclusion. Adolescents' opinions of HIV-infected people were mostly positive. Although most participants knew that HIV cannot be transmitted through social contact, undefined fears concerning the infection exist. Conclusions: These findings have important implications for the implementation of a comprehensive programme on HIV/AIDS education in secondary schools.

Keywords: adolescents, AIDS prevention, gender differences, psychosocial and ecological determinants, sexual behaviour

* International Health & Centro de Malária e Outras Doenças Tropicais, Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Transcult NursHome page
B. L. Glenn and K. P. Wilson
African American Adolescent Perceptions of Vulnerability and Resilience to HIV
J Transcult Nurs, July 1, 2008; 19(3): 259 - 265.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.