University of Arizona to Study Teens' Risky Sexual Behavior

University of Arizona (UA) researchers have received a $2.5 million grant to study why some teenagers are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors than others. The challenge of getting teenagers to refrain from risky behavior is the reason UA researchers, with Valerie Reyna, director of UA College of Medicine's Informatics and Decision Making Laboratory and principal investigator, were awarded the grant from the National Institutes of Health. The US Department of Health and Human Services has listed reducing risky sexual behavior among adolescents as a national health objective.

Slated to begin this fall, the five-year study will survey about 1,000 adolescents and determine how decision processes differ for abstinent versus sexually active adolescents, and for those who engage in high-risk sexual behavior versus those who do not. It will take particular note of previously understudied Hispanic teens and how they make such decisions, Reyna said. The study participants, ages 14 to 18, will be recruited from southern Arizona high schools and charter schools. The study includes an evaluation of the effectiveness of an intervention program designed to reduce risky sexual behavior.

Back to other CDC news for October 30, 2001

Previous Updates