Sex, Lies, and HIV

Abstract

To the Editor: Reducing the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission among sexually active teenagers and young adults is a major public health concern.¹ Young people are advised to select potential sexual partners from groups at lower risk for HIV,² in part by asking about partners' risk histories.³ Unfortunately, this advice overlooks the possibility that people may lie about their risk history.⁴ In a sample of 18-to-25-year-old students attending colleges in southern California (n = 665), we found strong evidence that undermines faith in questioning partners as an effective primary strategy of risk reduction. The young adults, of whom . . .