Children in the African American community at risk for HIV/AIDSMany African Americans are at high risk for HIV infection and many of them are unaware of it or do not have access to it. to care, education and prevention services. With African Americans making up fourteen percent of the population, they account for nearly half of all people infected with HIV. According to Exploring the Social and Community Context of African American Adolescents' HIV Vulnerability (2013), African American communities bear the burden of disproportionately high rates of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) nationwide. Although African Americans made up only 14% of the U.S. population, they accounted for 44% of new HIV cases in the United States in 2009 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2011). African American adolescents (ages 13–19) accounted for 69% of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2010, although they made up only 15% of this age group in the United States (CDC, 2012a). Research suggests that a complex set of factors, including individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors, put African American youth at higher risk for HIV (Lightfoot, A.F., Sparks, A., Turner, K., Griffith, T., Jackson, M., & Woods-Jaeger, B, 2013). High-risk behaviors are a major factor in the African community when it comes to HIV/AIDS, and African American adolescents are reported to have the highest prevalence of sexual intercourse compared to other adolescent ethnic groups. Although individual risk behaviors are important in HIV transmission, they are not the only factor responsible for HIV disparities among African American adolescents. Youth, Socioeconomic/Behavioral Risk Factors, and Prevention...... middle of article...... n/a Safer Sex HIV Risk Reduction Interventions for African American Adolescents : a randomized controlled trial. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1529-1536. Retrieved May 8, 2014, from JAMA Network Database. Lightfoot, A. F., Sparks, A., Turner, K., Griffith, T., Jackson, M., & Woods-Jaeger, B. Exploring the Social and Community Context of HIV Vulnerability among African American Adolescents. Qualitative health research, 1541-1550. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from Sage Journals database. Lightfoot, M.A. and Milburn, NG (2009). HIV prevention and African American youth: Examining behavior at the individual level is not the only answer. Culture, health and sexuality, 11(7), 731-742. doi:10.1080/13691050903078824McCree, D.H., Jones, K., & O'Leary, A. (2010). African Americans and HIV/AIDS Understanding and Coping with the Epidemic. New York: Springer.