It's part of the normal development process. He points out that teens' belief in their own invincibility needs to be balanced against the harsh facts of HIV infection. They need help to stay healthy. Ethan Herschman, educational coordinator for the Boston Living Center, agrees. Risk-taking is a part of adolescence.
Risk is a part of growth.
Adolescents are at risk in part because risk-taking behaviors are integral to the typical adolescent experience. Sexual intercourse and injection drug use are the most common modes of HIV infection among most recently infected adolescents. Most HIV-infected young people have become infected through sexual activity, which often begins in their teenage years. Of these, only half report using a condom on the last occasion. About one-fifth say that they have had more than four sexual partners during their lives.