Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - June 29, 2003
Devin Rose
- Ninety-five percent reported having engaged in three or more risky behaviors involving drugs or sex. Behaviors included having multiple sex partners, having unprotected sex and using alcohol or marijuana.
- More than half the girls ages 10-13 were sexually active; more than two-thirds of them had used marijuana. Among boys, including those 10-13, more than half to two-thirds were sexually active and had used alcohol or marijuana.
Researchers acknowledged that the juveniles could have either exaggerated or underreported certain behaviors. But they maintained that the findings show the need for interventions aimed at detained juveniles, adding that previous reports suggest detained youth run a huge risk of developing HIV as they age.
"Many kids at great risk for HIV--kids who use drugs, who trade sex for money or drugs and runaways--will be arrested at some point and cycle through detention centers," said researcher Linda A. Teplin, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. Because most kids go back to their communities in weeks, she said, "reducing HIV and AIDS risk behaviors in kids in the juvenile justice system could reduce the spread of infection in the community."
Study results appear in this month's American Journal of Public Health.
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