Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108146

Anita Raj, PhD, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany St, T2W, Boston, MA 02118, 617-638-5161, anitaraj@bu.edu, Michele R. Decker, MPH, Division of Public Health Practice/Department of Society, Human Development & Health, Harvard University, 677 Huntington Ave., Kresge 705, Boston, MA 02115, Jessica E. Murray, MPH, Data Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany St., Boston, MA 02118, and Jay G. Silverman, PhD, Department for Society, Human Development and Health/Division of Public Health Practice, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, 7th floor, Boston, MA 02115.

Objective: To assess gender differences in the associations between exposure to school HIV education and sexual protective behaviors as well as no history of STD/HIV diagnosis.

Design: Data from male and female high school adolescent participants in the 1999, 2001, and 2003 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N=12,243) were analyzed. Adjusted regression analyses stratified by gender were conducted to assess relationships between school HIV education exposure and the following outcomes: no sexual initiation, condom use at last sex, no multiple sex partners in the past 3 months, and no history of STD/HIV diagnosis.

Participants: Participants were majority White (75%) and 51% male; the subsample of sexually active students was younger than the total sample but otherwise similar in demographics.

Results: School HIV education was reported by 93% of our sample and was significantly related no sexual initiation among boys (OR=1.9, 95% CI=1.4, 2.7) but not girls. Among sexually experienced students (n=4752), boys reporting exposure to school HIV education were significantly more likely to report condom use (OR=2.2, 95% CI=1.6-3.1), no multiple sex partners (OR=3.2, 95% CI=2.3-4.4), and no STD/HIV diagnosis (OR=3.2, 95% CI=2.0-5.0); girls reporting such exposure were significantly more likely to report no multiple sex partners (OR=2.2, 95% CI=1.3-3.6).

Conclusion: Exposure to school HIV education is associated with sexual protective behaviors and reduced likelihood of STD/HIV diagnosis for boys but less so for girls, suggesting the need for more gender-tailored approaches to school HIV education.

Learning Objectives:

• To identify gender differences in the effectiveness of HIV education in schools
• To identify differences in the associations between school-based HIV education and sexual risk behaviors as compared with parental sex education and sexual risk behaviors.

Keywords: Adolescents, School-Based Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.