Objective-To examine the association between sexual health and internet use, including social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook, among a sample of homeless adolescents at high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. Methods-201 homeless adolescents were surveyed in 2009 about their internet use.Multivariate logistic regression models assessed how patterns of use were associated with engaging in exchange sex (sex for money, drugs, housing), recent HIV testing, and online partnerseeking behaviors.Results-96.5% reported internet use. Most youth accessed the internet at public libraries or youth service agencies. Increased time online and recent engagement in exchange sex were both positively associated with online partner-seeking. Youth connected to family members online were less likely to practice exchange sex and more likely to report a recent HIV test. Youth connected to street-based peers online were more likely to practice exchange sex, while youth connected to home-based peers online were more likely to report a recent HIV test.Conclusions-Although these data are preliminary, homeless youth need more access to the internet, as access facilitates connecting with family and home-based peers whose presence may reduce sexual risk-taking. Access, however, must be carefully monitored to prevent youth soliciting sex online.As adolescent internet use has moved away from web surfing and anonymous chat rooms to social networking technologies (e.g. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter) (1-2), the implications for the impact of internet use on sexual health have also changed (2-4). Early worries about sexual predation and exposure to inappropriate sexual content online (5-7) have given way to worries about weakened parental influence and the growing influence of potentially risky peers (3-4). With notable exceptions, (6-7) few studies have looked into how internet use is associated with the sexual health of high risk adolescents.The estimated 1.6 million runaway and homeless adolescents in the United States are at great risk for contracting HIV/AIDS (8), with prevalence rates reported as high as 11.5% (9). HIV/AIDS risk for homeless adolescents has been tied to the influence of sexual risk-© 2010 Society for Adolescent Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved All correspondence should be directed to: Eric Rice, Ph.D., at 1149 S. Hill St., Suite 360, Los Angeles, CA, 90015; or ericr@usc.edu.. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. This study examines frequency of internet use, means of accessing the internet, and with whom homeless adolescents connect ...

Peer-based prevention programs for homeless youth are complicated by the potential for reinforcing high-risk behaviors among participants. The goal of this study is to understand how homeless youth could be linked to positive peers in prevention programming by understanding where in social and physical space positive peers for homeless youth are located, how these ties are associated with substance use, and the role of social networking technologies (e.g., internet and cell phones) in this process. Personal social network data were collected from 136 homeless adolescents in Los Angeles, CA. Respondents reported on composition of their social networks with respect to: home-based peers and parents (accessed via social networking technology; e.g., the internet, cell phone, texting), homeless peers and agency staff (accessed face-to-face) and whether or not network members were substance-using or non-substance-using. Associations between respondent’s lifetime cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use and recent (previous 30 days) alcohol and marijuana use were assessed by the number of non-substance-using versus substance-using ties in multivariate linear regression models. 43% of adolescents reported a non-substance-using home-based tie. More of these ties were associated with less recent alcohol use. 62% of adolescents reported a substance-using homeless tie. More of these ties were associated with more recent marijuana use as well as more lifetime heroin and methamphetamine use. For homeless youth, who are physically disconnected from positive peers, social networking technologies can be used to facilitate the sorts of positive social ties that effective peer-based prevention programs require.

Objectives To add to the body of evidence supporting the relationship between social network structures and health, this study examined interconnections among a sample of runaway and homeless youth (RHY) and how position in the aggregated network structure was associated with HIV risk. Methods Individual and social network data were collected from a sample of 136 RHY. A sociomatrix was generated, network visualization was accomplished with a “spring embedder,” and k-cores were examined. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed the associations between peripheral and non-peripheral network position and recent unprotected sex. Results Small numbers of nominations at the individual level aggregated into a large social network with a visible core, periphery (including isolates), and small clusters. Female youth were more likely to be located in the core as were youth who had been homeless for two years or more. Youth at the periphery of the network were less likely to report unprotected sex and had been homeless for a shorter duration. Conclusions Not only was HIV risk a function of risk-taking youth being connected to other risk-taking youth, but also risk was associated with position in the overall structure of the network. We provide suggestions for effective social network-based prevention programs, need for young women’s housing and health programs, as well as the likely added traction that housing-first programs will have with peripheral youth, for whom the pull of street life is less, which may help them to more successfully engage in the structures and opportunities of housing programs.

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