Teens, it seems, are more likely than adults to feel people should take responsibility for protecting themselves from STDs and should not rely on the trustworthiness of their sexual partners. A Public Health Issue with a Moral Dimension For many American teens, STDs are a health issue with a moral dimension. For most of the remaining seven in ten teens, higher moral standards would reduce the problem at the societal level, but they oppose the notion that individuals with STDs should feel ashamed or guilty. These teens see STDs as primarily a health issue that should not carry a social stigma. Adults 18-44 hold similarly ambivalent views about STDs.
Teenage girls are more likely than boys to see STDs in a moral light.
They are more likely to believe higher moral standards would make STDs less problematic and less apt to believe those with STDs should not feel at all guilty or ashamed. Likewise, teens who feel they are personally at risk for an STD infection view STDs in a less moralistic light. The majority of teens say if they contracted an STD they would be angry at the person who infected them. Teens, however, feel less strongly about this than adults. Among adults, women are more likely than men to say they would be angry at a partner who infected them, and to feel strongly about it.