1. Bell Ringer Open your student workbook to page 53.
Under the heading Journal Entry, write a few short sentences about the factor you think has the biggest influence on teens’ sexual choices. Describe what this factor is and explain why you think it has such a strong influence.

2. Unit 4: HIV, STD & Pregnancy Prevention
Lesson 8: Assessing & Avoiding STD Risks

3. Healthy Behavior Outcomes
Be sexually abstinent.
Engage in behaviors that prevent or reduce sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV infection.
Support others to avoid or reduce sexual risk behaviors.

4. Lesson Objectives By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Explain the increased risks associated with having multiple sexual partners, including serial monogamy.
Explain the importance of partners sharing the responsibility for avoiding sexual activity and/or preventing sexual risk behaviors.

6. Summary
Everyone who traded signatures (had sex) with a person who’d been exposed to an STD was at risk of being infected.
Notice how the number of people doubled as the number of sexual partners increased from 1 to 2 to 3.
Even if a person is monogamous or faithful over time, the risk for STD is greater than it would be with only one long-term or lifetime partner.

7. Survey
So far, we have been showing what happens with serial monogamy, or having sexual relationships with different partners one after another over time.
What do you think will happen to a person’s STD risk if he or she has more than one sexual partner over the same period of time?

8. Summary
This last demonstration shows what can happen if people continue to have sex with multiple partners over the same period of time.
In this case, everyone who had sex with one of the people who was exposed to the STD would be at risk, no matter in what order the worksheet was signed.
When people continue to have sex with more than one partner, everyone’s STD risk goes up.

9. Ask & Discuss
What conclusions can you draw about how the number of sexual partners affects a person’s STD risk?

10. Summary
The risk of getting an STD greatly increases with the number of partners a person has.
This is true even if a person is serially monogamous.
Having overlapping partners, or continuing to have sex with more than one person over the same period of time, greatly increases the spread of STD within a group of people.

11. What is the surest way to prevent STD, including HIV?

12. Summary
Not having sex, or being abstinent, is always a choice. For teens, it is the best option.
It protects you from both pregnancy and STD.
Monogamy, or having only one sexual partner who does not have an STD and who has sex only with you, is also a way to avoid STD.
A person’s STD risk increases with the number of partners he or she has had.

13. If a person does choose to become sexually active, what are some ways to help reduce his or her risk of STD, including HIV?

14. Summary Get tested for STD/HIV before having sex with a new partner.
Be sure your partner gets tested.
Be monogamous within your relationship.
Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.
Choose sexually responsible partners.
Get checked regularly for STD if you are sexually active.
All of these are ways sexually active people can be responsible and help protect themselves and their partners.

15. What role do you think partners should play in protecting each other from STD?

16. Summary
People in a relationship who have chosen to be abstinent can support each other in avoiding any sexual activity that could cause a pregnancy or pass an STD.
When people are sexually active, responsible sexual partners share the responsibility for avoiding STD.
If someone you are sexually attracted to refuses to do these things, he or she may not be a wise choice for a partner.

17. Partner Stories: Rate the Risk
Turn to page 25 in your student workbook.
Follow the instructions under the heading Partner Stories: Rate the Risk.

18. Suppose you have a friend who just broke up with a boyfriend or girlfriend and is thinking of starting a new sexual relationship. What advice would you give this friend to help protect him or her from STD?