YDCMA conducted a survey among students between the ages of 15 and 18 on the occasion of December 1st – Worlds AIDS Day. They survey was carried out in towns and cities where the organization has established clubs. One of these towns is Kazanlak, and the others are Sofia, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo and Pleven. 100 students from every city were given the survey. The aim of this was to see how well the students were informed about the specifics of the disease, where they get information about it from, and how well they knew how to protect demselves from it. The results from Kazanlak show that 63 out of the 100 get information about the disease of the 20th century from different types of media. 44%of the surveyed have had sex, 57% from which have sex with a condom. A dangerous myth has spread among the students in Kazanlak. 11% of them think that taking birth control counts as safe sex. 98% of the surveyed consider themselves informed on the subject. In Kazanlak that number is 95 – the lowest out of all the cities. In Sofia the number is 100, in Stara Zagora – 97. 65% of the surveyed claim that they have had some sort of sexual intercourse, and 40% from them always have sex with a condom. The students in Kazanlak share that they don’t feel so safe. 60% of the surveyed feel in danger under today’s living conditions.

We also asked them to who they would turn to for help, regarding AIDS. Here most answered parents – 60%, friends – 53%. School is neglected in favor of family and the circle of friends. The trust in teachers, psychologists and school counselors is below 15%, which is worrying according to the author of the study – Krasimir Tsanev. He is a psychologist and internationally certified career counselor from YDCMA.