[Human immunodeficiency virus vulnerabilities and related health risk behaviors of out-of-school children of the floating population in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE

To explore the vulnerability and related risk behaviors of the out-of-school adolescents floating with their parents from country to city.

METHODS

From September to October in 2005, 260 out-of-school adolescents who were 14 to 20 years old were investigated in our study.

RESULTS

The out-of-school adolescents lacked of HIV/AIDS knowledge and life skills, and their psychosocial competence was at a lower level. The adolescents were open-minded to sex, but they were not conscious of using condoms. Attitude towards people with HIV was positively correlated with a well-being family, harmonious relation between their parents, a stable job, knowledge, life skills and psychosocial competence (such as in control of emotions, empathy). Their life skills were positively correlated with their mothers' schooling satisfaction with family income, a stable job, high scores of knowledge, social responsibility,and interpersonal relationship. Competence of HIV/AIDS prevention was positively correlated with schooling, a stable job, knowledge, life skills, and psychosocial competence.

CONCLUSION

Out-of-school adolescents were vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Individual level intervention combined with structural intervention could effectively reduce their vulnerability. Effective and feasible health education approach to enhance their life skills and psychosocial competence was a key point to health education on HIV/AIDS prevention.