ABSTRACT
As the AIDS epidemic moves into the 1990s, public health officials are increasingly concerned that “the risk-related behaviors of adolescents puts some teenagers directly in the path of the epidemic.” (Hein, 1989) Many of these at-risk youth are engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse (not using condoms) and substance abuse. In the next few years, larger numbers of at-risk adolescents will be referred for HIV antibody testing due to the increased benefits that have been associated with early treatment of asymptomatic HIV. Demands for comprehensive services for those who test positive will increase. These services must be designed to meet the unique needs of HIV positive adolescents. Now is the time for adolescent specialists from various disciplines to begin to prepare programs and strategies that will serve this special population. This paper will focus on an intervention strategy I developed for working with HIV positive substance abusing adolescents.
