Teenagers, HIV, And AIDS: Insights from Youths Living With the Virus

Who will want me now? It's a heart-wrenching question that comes to mind for teenagers infected with HIV. And the number of infected teenagers is increasing. Each year in the United States alone, some 1,700 more young people aged 13 to 24 are diagnosed with the ravaging end result of this infection--AIDS. Nearly 35,000 teenagers in total now have AIDS in this country. Far more have been diagnosed with HIV; an undetermined number have it and do not yet know. Worldwide among the 37 million known to be HIV-infected, about half of the people became infected sexually before their 25th birthday. In this volume, experts who work daily with HIV-infected teenagers reveal for us the psychological and social fallout, in addition to current medical issues, that face adolescents who've received the diagnosis.

Maureen E. Lyon is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Research Professor in Pediatrics at George Washington University Medical Center, in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children's National Medical Center, located in Washington, D.C. She holds a Diplomate in Health Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology.

Lawrence J. D'Angelo, M.D., is Chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children's National Medical Center, Washington, D.C. He is a tenured Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Health Care Sciences at the George Washington University School of Medicine. D'Angelo is also a Professor of Prevention and Community Health and Edpidemiology at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Sciences.