Reducing HIV infection among youth: What can schools do? Key baseline findings from Mexico Thailand and South Africa.

This document highlights key baseline findings from Mexico Thailand and South Africa that have implications for school-based programs in reducing HIV infections among youth. Focus is on several key variables including HIV knowledge attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS confidence in acquiring and using condoms and reported sexual behavior. Students knowledge attitudes norms and reported behavior were surveyed before the intervention immediately after the intervention and again several months later to measure retention of program effects. Overall the studies found that a majority of girls have not had penetrative sex; more boys than girls are having first sex at or before 15 years of age; students have sex intermittently; students misjudge peers level of sexual activity; sexually experienced students do not always see themselves at higher risk than sexually inexperienced youth; students have misperceptions and uneven knowledge about HIV; students have ambivalent feelings about people living with HIV; many students are not confident that they know how to use a condom correctly; and many sexually active students do not use condoms.