In the lay and professional literatures on HIV and AIDS, young people are frequently characterized as being at high risk of infection. Their social immaturity, their spontaneity, their emotional volatility and their propensity to risk-take is said to render them specially vulnerable. This paper questions the appropriateness of such a view and argues for a more socially differentiated understanding of young people and their HIV/AIDS health promotion needs. It reviews aspects of relevant European epidemiology, describes dominant ideologies of youth and adolescence and their impact upon HIV/AIDS work, and identifies key implications for policy and practice.
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