Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical - ETR Associates

Activity 4-2Description of ActivitySTD HandshakeObjectives: Students will be able to:1. Describe how one or more STDs can pass rapidly throughout a sexual network if people have sexand are not protected by condoms2. Describe how the number of sexual partners each person has dramatically affects the spread ofSTDs3. Describe how concurrent sexual partners instead of sequential sexual partners greatly increasesthe spread of STDsRisk and Protective Factors Affected:1. Knowledge of how STDs spread rapidly through sexual networks2. Perception of risk of sex not protected by condoms and of risk of multiple partnersActivity:The educator gives each student a sheet of paper. On each sheet are three boxes with room for 1, 2and 3 signatures within each box, respectively. On the back of one sheet of paper is a colored dot.The educator asks each student 1) to shake hands with one other person and to record that person’ssignature in box 1, 2) to shake hands with two other people and record both their signatures in box2 and 3) to shake hands with three other people and to record their signatures in box 3.The educator then informs the students that shaking hands hypothetically represents havingunprotected sex and that, hypothetically, the person with a colored dot has an STD. She/he thenasks the person with a colored dot to stand and to read off the name of the person in box 1. Thatperson has become infected and then stands. Because everyone had sex with only one person, noone else has become infected. Thus, one new person becomes infected.In part two, the person with the colored dot stands and reads the name of the person with whomhe/she shook hands and became infected with an STD. That person then stands and reads the nameof the person with whom he/she had sex after the first person. That person then stands. Thus, threenew people become infected.In part three, the same process is repeated and each person who becomes infected reads the namesof the people with whom he/she had sex after becoming infected. Thus, seven new people becomeinfected.This has assumed that all sexual relationships are sequential (people do not have sex with formersexual partners after they have sex with a new partner). If all sexual relationships are concurrent,then each newly infected person infects all partners, both current and past. Thus, students whobecome infected call out all the names on their lists, not just the names of the later sexual partners,and typically everyone in the class becomes infected.There are various modifications of this exercise. For example, a few sheets can have differentcolored dots representing different STDs that young people might have. Some students’ sheetscan have a statement that reads, “refuse to shake hands with anyone.” This, of course, representsrefusing to have sex and these people do not become infected. Similarly, some students can havea different marking on their sheet, indicating they always used condoms consistently and did notbecome infected.(Continued)52 Reducing Adolescent Sexual Risk: A Theoretical Guide for Developing and Adapting Curriculum-Based Programs