Social issues linked to rise in STDs

Dismay over funding
While abstinence-only-until-marriage education programs have received a boost in federal funding, the CDC’s funding for HIV/AIDS related research and programs has received a $4 million cut, much to the dismay of many researchers on sexual health.

But not all experts shun abstinence programs. Borris Powell, program director of Gay Men of African Descent, says he favors abstinence programs. However, he believes that faith-based initiatives fail when abstinence is not presented as a choice but as the only option. Like other experts, Powell’s main criticism of both programs is their failure to address existing issues and how these factors may impact sexual behavior.

“We need to focus on  behavior and how to persuade someone to change their behaviors,” says Tony Morris, a licensed therapist and director of AIDS in Minorities in Alabama. “And we can talk about abstinence, but did everybody stop using drugs just because Nancy Reagan said,  ‘Just say no?’”

Social issues, such as emotional wellness and substance abuse, can make long-term safer sex practices challenging, says Morris. Morris says focusing on these factors is the only way to change behavior and reduce STD transmission rates.

“I think HIV (and other STDs) are diseases of convenience,” says Morris. “And by focusing on the disease and not the behaviors, it does not address the issues that face many Americans.” 

Underestimating sexual risk
The rising rates of STDs are a combination of people underestimating their personal risk and being misinformed, according to Carey. 

Carey points out that in lasting relationships, individuals often underestimate their personal vulnerability by assuming that both they and their partners are invulnerable to STDs. “People see being in love with their partner as making sex less risky, but microorganisms don’t respect love.”

Trust and the length of a relationship are the primary predictors of risky behavior and condom use, says Dr. Peter Vanable, whose research on HIV/AIDS at Syracuse University is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Vanable says that individuals normally practice safe sex at the onset of a relationship, but, “once you get past the first couple of weeks, the condoms usually go out the window.”

“As trust develops, the likelihood of perceiving someone as having HIV goes down rapidly, and after a relatively short time,” Vanable said. “That is not because people have gotten tests. It is because of social psychological processes, not based on knowledge about what they know about their partner, but based on personal feelings and trust.”

For some, even a lack of trust does not prevent risky behavior. Tracey Pope, a 26-year-old single female, admits that she has not always used condoms in the past, despite having multiple partners and not discussing STDs and HIV with them. 

Feelings and trust lead many to engage in risky behavior because sex is often easier to perform than to discuss, researchers say.

Pope admits that she enjoys sex but is too uncomfortable to discuss it with her partners. “I think with me it’s an uncomfortable question and topic. Just talking about diseases and all the negative aspects puts a downer on the whole act. Even though I know it is something that should be discussed.”

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