Association between HIV-Related Risk Behaviors and HIV Testing Among High School Students in the United States, 2007

This study examined the association between HIV testing and HIV-related risk behaviors among U.S. high school students using data from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a cross-sectional survey of risk behaviors among a nationally representative sample of students in grades 9-12. Students reported whether they had ever had an HIV test. HIV-related risk behaviors assessed included: ever had sexual intercourse, currently sexually active, forced to have sexual intercourse, lifetime illegal injection-drug use, did not use a condom at last sexual intercourse, first sexual intercourse before age 13 years, sexual intercourse with 4+ persons during their life, and drank alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse. Associations were analyzed for female (n=5996) and male (n=6100) students using logistic regression models that controlled for race/ethnicity and age. The prevalence of HIV testing was higher among female (14.8%) than male (11.1%) students. For all students, HIV testing was significantly associated with each HIV-related risk behavior, though associations tended to be stronger among female students than male students. For example, compared to students who had never had sexual intercourse, those who had ever had sexual intercourse had greater odds of ever having an HIV test (OR for females=7.0, OR for males=4.9). The findings from this study indicate that the highest risk students are most likely to be tested.