Crack or cocaine use can have more of an impact on teens than the potential for a drug addiction. According to a new study, history of the use of such drugs makes a teen more likely to engage in unprotected sex than teens who have never used these drugs. Such activity puts these youth at increased risk for HIV.

This study was recently summarized in a Science Daily release and was conducted by researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center. This research highlights that teens in psychiatric care who used crack and/or cocaine at least once were actually six times less likely to use condoms consistently.

The findings of this research suggest that crack cocaine appears to have more of an influence on risky teen behaviors than other factors, such as alcohol and marijuana. The latter substances are more routinely incorporated into adolescent HIV prevention interventions.

"Unprotected sex is the most common way that HIV is transmitted among teens, so if we can develop a clearer picture of why some kids engage in high-risk sexual behaviors, we will be better prepared to educate them about safe sex," said lead author Marina Tolou-Shams, PhD, of the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center.”

"Our findings suggest that future HIV prevention interventions should include content specific to crack and cocaine use, just as they do with drugs that are more commonly used by teens, like alcohol and marijuana."

Nearly 280 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 from therapeutic psychiatric day programs participated in the study and exhibited a range of psychiatric diagnoses. More than half of these participants were male and more than 75 percent were Caucasian. Roughly 13 percent of teens in the study reported trying crack or cocaine at least once.

In examining these participants, researchers found that only 47 percent of teens with a history of crack and/or cocaine use said they used condoms either always or almost always. Another 15 percent have a history of STDs, nearly 75 percent reported using alcohol at least once and more than half indicated prior marijuana use.