Sexually active young people are the hardest hit by the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in this country, according to a new report from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Researchers behind the report - "Our Voices, Our Lives, Our Futures: Youth and Sexually Transmitted Diseases" - estimate that there is a total of nine million new cases of STDs among 15 - 24 year olds. In other words, says the report, "by the age of 25, one of two sexually active youth will acquire an STD."

This could be anyone - you, a sibling, or a friend.

"The STD rates are high enough that everyone probably knows someone who has one," says Miriam Szatrowski, 24, of Urbana, IL. Szatrowski is a member of the report's Youth Panel; its purpose, she says, is to "give young people a voice."

The Youth Panel met to discuss, among other things, ways of communicating information about STDs to young people, which will hopefully encourage them to use contraception more consistently during sexual activity and/or evaluate if they're ready to have sex.


Barriers to Information and Treatment
There are a number of reasons why many young people don't make informed choices about sex, says Willard Cates, Jr., MD, MPH, president of Family Health International, and a member of the report's Expert Panel. Many young people don't know where to find the facts about contraception or don't have an accurate source for sexual health information. These obstacles, coupled with barriers to sexual health services, are particularly damaging because young people tend to have multiple sexual partners and often possess an "it can't happen to me" attitude.

"An element of youth," says Dr. Cates, "is the denial of risk." This denial causes many young people to ignore the possibility of STD infection and engage in unsafe sexual activity, or "sexual risk behaviors," as the report puts it.


These behaviors include:
- becoming sexually active early on (in teen years),
- having multiple partners,
- having unprotected sex or having sex without using a condom   correctly and consistently, and
- having sex with someone who is infected with an STD.


Yet, Szatrowski explains, another major barrier is simply not knowing.

"A lot of young people don't know where to go to get help," she says. This presents a major problem: if American youth don't know where to go to get tested or treatment, they can unknowingly spread STDs to other people - and those people can spread STDs to others.

Comparably, people who do know where to go, Szatrowski explains, fear that their visit won't be kept confidential. Dr. Cates elaborates: "Seeking help is anxiety-provoking. Whether seeking help from a family physician or a complete stranger, discussing one's sexual history with someone other than your partner can be an uncomfortable experience." Uncomfortable, yet necessary.

"STDs are very stigmatized," Szatrowski says, "and because of that, young people are not coming forward and getting treatment." Other barriers to testing and treatment include lack of health insurance or inability to pay, and lack of transportation to and from clinics.


Survey Results and Independent Research
According to "Our Voices, Our Lives," the three most common STDs among 15 - 24 year olds are the human papillomavirus (HPV), trichomoniasis, and chlamydia, with HPV being the most common.

"HPV is so widely prevalent that we refer to it as an indicator of (sexual) activity," says Dr. Cates.

One of the reasons HPV is so common among youths is that barrier methods (like the condom) do not always provide complete protection against it because HPV could be on a part of the skin not covered by the condom. And HPV is only treatable - not curable. This is also the case for genital herpes, hepatitis B, and HIV.

STDs in general can have serious negative long-term consequences, especially if left untreated. These include infertility, cervical cancer, and chronic pains. Some short-term consequences, if the STD isn't asymptomatic, include pain and discomfort.

None of this information could be known without research, which is why, Szatrowski says, it is important for young people to learn about STDs independently and empower themselves. One indisputably important tool is the Internet.

"It's helpful - now that the Internet is popular - that there are sexual health sites for young people to find information," she says.

The report shows that "culture, the media, schools, and relationships with families, friends, and romantic partners" influence young people's decisions about sex and STDs. Szatrowski believes it's important to have open communication about sex with partners, friends, and family members.

"My hope is that young people will get the message that this is something that can happen to them, but this isn't something that has to happen to them," she says.

For youth to get this message, STDs and sex must be topics comfortably discussed in schools, communities, and families. Szatrowski wants the media to take more responsibility for their undeniable influence on young people's sexual decisions today. Dr. Cates would like to see more youth-friendly health services.

In describing STD rates in specific areas - particularly urban and rural - he reaches one general conclusion: wherever there are fewer places for youth to get treated, tested, and educated, there is a higher STD rate than the national average.

Better techniques to measure the effects of STDs, he says, will drive numbers up in the future. But on the bright side, he has seen "the leveling out and decrease of the age of initiation of [sexual] activity," and the "increase of [the use of] barrier methods." This can only give us hope for the future.


To read the "Our Voices, Our Lives, Our Futures" report, click here.

To learn more about STDs, click here.

To find out how to get tested for STDs, click here.


Kameron Collins, 16, of North Plainfield, NJ, is an editor for SEX, ETC., the national newsletter and Web site written by teens, for teens, on sexual health issues, published by the Network for Family Life Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

 Visit SEX, ETC.