Sexual and drug use risk behaviors among children and youth in street circumstances in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess sexual and drug use risk in 161 children and youth in street circumstances in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Median age was 14 and 79% were male. Overall, 59% reported ever having had sex; a significantly higher proportion of males (66%) compared to females (30%). Overall, 39% reported illicit drug use in the last year, and only 1.2% reported injection drug use. In multivariate analyses, correlates of unsafe sex included younger age of sexual debut, and having a steady sex partner. Independent correlates of illicit drug use included lack of family contact, increased hours in the street daily, having had an HIV test, and older age. A high proportion of children and youth in street circumstances reported high risk sex and drug exposures, confirming their vulnerability to HIV/STD. Services Centers, such as where this research was carried out, offer an opportunity for interventions.
de Carvalho
Fernanda Torres
FT
Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Neiva-Silva
Lucas
L
Ramos
Mauro Cunha
MC
Evans
Jennifer
J
Koller
Sílvia Helena
SH
Piccinini
Cesar Augusto
CA
Page-Shafer
Kimberly
K
D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission; D018453:Homeless Youth; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000635:transmission; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires