RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To expose the vulnerability of HIV/AIDS infection among youth out of schools in a holistic view through understanding lifestyle, peer relations, awareness of HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS prevention service of the youth. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey based on the collective random sampling was conducted among 584 youth out of schools with or without a job in Anshan City, Liaoning Province in October 2005. RESULTS: The awareness rate of HIV/AIDS among youth out of schools was 58.9%, and 65.6% of the subjects never accepted any health service related to HIV/AIDS prevention. 42.6% of the respondents had sexual experience, and the rate of having sexual experience among males (62.3%) was higher than that of females (37.7%). And 30.5% of the youth seldom or never used a condom, 51.2% of the youth having sex didn't use a condom in his/her last sex. 28.2% of the youth having sex were ever involved in commercial sex relations. 22 of the respondents (3.8%) had the experience of drug substance, the rate of having sex experience among youth who used the substance was higher than that of the youth who never used the substance. Smoking, alcohol abusing, visiting recreation places, high month consumption were the risk factors of pre-marital sex, and high awareness of HIV/AIDS was the protective factor of pre-marital sex. CONCLUSION: The youth out of schools were vulnerable in sexual behavior, substance use, peer influencing, social environment, and HIV/AIDS prevention service in terms of HIV/AIDS infection.
