Youth, AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Susan Moore holds the position of Inaugural Chair in Psychology at Victoria University of Technology. She holds a PhD from Florida State University, and BSc (Hons) and MEd degrees from the University of Melbourne. Her research is chiefly in the area of adolescent risktaking and health, in particular adolescent sexual risk-taking and its implications with respect to HIV/AIDS. Professor Moore has held several major research grants, and published over fifty articles in refereed journals , as well as the book Sexuality in Adolescence, coauthored with Professor Doreen Rosenthal. She has worked as a school counsellor and taught in universities for over twenty-five years. Doreen Rosenthal is the Foundation Director of the Centre for the Study of Sexually Transmissible Diseases, La Trobe University, and Director of the Program in the General Community/Youth area of the National Centre in HIV Social Research. She holds a BA (Hons) and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. Professor Rosenthal is a developmental psychologist and an international expert in the field of adolescent sexuality. For the past seven years, Professor Rosenthal has been involved in a programme of research on adolescent risktaking and HIV /AIDS. Her interests include gender and the social construction of sexuality. She is co-author, with Susan Moore, of Sexuality in Adolescence, and has published over a hundred articles on adolescent development. Anne Mitchell has a background in high-school teaching and adult education and has now been working in the field of HIV/AIDS education and sexual health for over ten years. She has worked in the policy development area of health promotion in the Victorian Health Department, and has a Master's degree in the area of women's health. Her current position is as Community Liaison Officer with the Centre for the Study of STDs at La Trobe University, where she has the responsibility of developing and maintaining effective links between researchers and the community. This involves the running of inservice education for teachers and health professionals, ensuring research outcomes are available in straightforward language for community members and organising public seminars and forums.

• Notes on the authors -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 The scope of the problem: 'Taking a chance on love' -- 2 Youths' sexual behaviour -- 3 Understanding the risk: Young people's knowledge of and attitudes towards STDs -- 4 Predicting sexual risk taking: Theoretical frameworks -- 5 Myths and stereotypes: Young people's decisions to have and not to have safe sex -- 6 A matter of policy -- 7 Preventing STDs through education -- 8 Living with sexually transmissible disease -- 9 Conclusion -- References -- Index.