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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine how initial HIV prevention efforts for homeless youth were received and to determine areas where homeless youth's beliefs and behaviors continue to put them at risk for HIV infection. Interviews were conducted with 289 Seattle homeless youth. Youth reported using condoms with casual partners during vaginal and anal sex and with clients during oral, anal and vaginal sex. Condoms are often not used during vaginal sex with main partners or during oral sex with casual or main partners. Knowledge of HIV protective strategies differed according to youth's behavioral characteristics with heterosexual youth having the weakest knowledge of HIV protective strategies especially compared with young men who have sex with men. There is room for improvement in youth's knowledge and beliefs about HIV.

Sexual health of homeless youth: prevalence and correlates of sexually transmissible infections

“…[3][4][5] Additionally, the time spent on the street exposes them to drug users, sexual predators and other high-risk individuals who may exploit them and endanger their physical health. 6,7 Also, homeless youth have extremely low rates of condom usage and numerous sexual partners, 6,[8][9][10][11][12] which increases their risk for contracting STI. Self-reported rates of STI among homeless youth range from ~20% to 37%.…”

“…Self-reported rates of STI among homeless youth range from ~20% to 37%. 9,[12][13][14] It is estimated that 2.8 million runaway and homeless youth live on the streets of America every day 15 and because females and some minority groups, who are at greater risk for contracting STI, make up a sizeable portion of the homeless population, 16 homeless youth are an at-risk population in need of further study.…”

“…9,18 Others have looked at the frequency of risky behaviors including STI but many of these studies are descriptive and have not gone beyond correlates and means tests; 12,13,19 therefore, very few studies have focused specifically on risk factors associated with contracting STI among homeless youth. Additionally, even though females and some minority groups experience higher rates of STI compared with males and white youth, few studies have examined such relationships.…”

The Paradox of Homeless Youth Pregnancy: A Review of Challenges and Opportunities

“…One such challenge is pregnancy, as homeless youth pregnancy rates are as much as five times higher when compared to their housed counterparts Reeg, Grisham, & Shepard, 2002). National and regional studies report that 30% to 60% of female homeless youth indicate past or current pregnancies (Anderson, Freese, & Pennbridge, 1994;Cauce, Stewart, Whitbeck, Paradise, & Hoyt, 2005;Ensign, 2001;Halcón & Lifson, 2004;Haley, Roy, Leclerc, Boudreau, & Boivin, 2004;Milburn, Rotheram-Borus, Rice, Mallet, & Rosenthal, 2006;Wagner, Carlin, Cauce, & Tenner, 2001;Winetrobe et al, 2013), and at least 10% of female homeless youth are pregnant at any given time Herndon et al, 2003). Moreover, approximately 73% of pregnancies to homeless youth are unintended (Gelberg et al, 2001).…”

“…Regarding repeat pregnancies, 28% of a sample showed that homeless women had been pregnant two or more times (Halcón & Lifson, 2004), with another study illustrating that half of the homeless women in the sample reported four or more past pregnancies (Bassuk & Weinreb, 1993). Specifically among homeless youth, contraception and condom use is similarly met with ambivalence, inconsistency, and infrequency (Anderson et al, 1994;Haley et al, 2004;Solorio et al, 2008;Wagner et al, 2001). For instance, Anderson et al (1994) found that 30% of female and 40% of male street youth reported using condoms at last sexual intercourse, rates that were also further inconsistent in terms of usage with casual versus regular sexual partners.…”