IYD: One Message for All

News & Views: OpEd

Shepherd Smith is founder and president of the Institute for Youth Development, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that promotes a consistent, comprehensive risk-avoidance message to youth for the leading harmful risk behaviors. His articles appear in newspapers across the country.

Read other OpEd's by Shepherd Smith

One Message for All
By Shepherd Smith

Mice, alcohol, drugs, teen sex, and the First Lady of Uganda – what do they have in common? They are all proving that we are wasting our time talking narrowly to teens about specific risks, like HIV or drugs. They are showing us that, if we want to help young people get through adolescence healthy and poised to succeed, we must be consistent and comprehensive in what we say to them about risk behaviors.

Over the last several weeks, we have participated in numerous media appearances, including a highly publicized seminar about teens, drinking, drugs and sex – an event that included such notables as 60 Minutes reporter Leslie Stahl, ABC medical adviser Dr. Tim Johnson, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, and other experts in their fields. We have met with officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and taken part in an international conference on AIDS in Africa. Research and experience are making two things abundantly clear: teenagers who take part in one risk behavior are much more likely to participate in many more, and the only way to make a difference is to tell teens they must abstain from alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco, and violence.

Before getting to the research and what the First Lady of Uganda has to say, take a moment and note that I said, “tell” teens how we expect them to behave. I didn’t say arrive at a consensus between you and your adolescent son or daughter. I didn’t say to consider behavior in the context of what his or her friends are doing. I said to tell your teen how to behave. Research shows that when parents express clear expectations for behavior, with clear consequences for failing to meet those expectations, teens are less likely to have sex, use alcohol or drugs, smoke cigarettes, or become involved in violence.

Now, back to what we are learning about teen risk behaviors and positive youth development. The Kaiser Family Foundation and The National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse, at Columbia University, just released a study showing that 23 percent of teens and young adults aged 15 to 24 report having unprotected sex while using alcohol or drugs. The survey found that teens 15 and older who drank alcohol were seven times more likely to have sex. Those who used drugs were five times more likely.

This has much deeper meaning than the obvious conclusion that when teens drink they have more sex. Condoms are believed to be effective in protecting against HIV when used consistently and correctly. They may have little or no impact on other sexually transmitted diseases, not to mention the trouble kids would have with them while drunk or high. And as an individual adds more sexual partners over his or her lifetime, the risk of acquiring HIV or another STD increases exponentially. So here’s the bottom line on this study: teens who use alcohol or drugs are directly increasing their risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease, at least one of which can kill.

Just a week after Kaiser released its study, researchers at UCLA reported that cocaine increases how fast HIV spreads through the bodies of mice. While, for obvious ethical reasons this experiment cannot be replicated in humans, the researchers expect that the result would be similar in people – just further proof that viewing any one risk behavior in isolation is a terribly risky proposition.

Finally, from our travels to meetings and conferences, comes the good news, the proof of what works. At an international AIDS meeting, the First Lady of Uganda reported on efforts in her country to stem the spread of HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is destroying entire generations. In Zimbabwe, for example, more than 25 percent of adults are living with HIV or AIDS. In South Africa, the figure is 20 percent. Mozambique has a rate of 13 percent. Uganda, however, is the only country in the region that has been able to lower infection rates. That is because, nationwide, they have taught their young people the value of abstaining from sex until marriage. In Uganda, young people are expected to avoid all risky behaviors, including sex. It’s working there.

What’s clear is that it’s time to tell teenagers in this country the same thing.

Shepherd Smith is founder and president of the Institute for Youth Development, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that promotes a consistent, comprehensive risk-avoidance message to youth for the leading harmful risk-behaviors: alcohol, drugs, sex, tobacco and violence. For more information, write to IYD at P.O. Box 16560, Washington, D.C., 20041 or visit www.youthdevelopment.org.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Media Services