# Minor Consent Laws and HIV Prevention Among Adolescents in the United States

> **NIH NIH R01** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · 2021 · $377,898

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMAY / ABSTRACT
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) significantly burdens youth 13–17 years of age in the United States (US).
Adolescents also have high rates of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which increases risk of HIV
acquisition and transmission. Sexual, gender, and racial/ethnic minority adolescents are disproportionately
affected. Increasing HIV/STI testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use are key components of the US
national strategy to decrease HIV rates among adolescents. Despite this, few adolescents have received
HIV/STI testing or PrEP. Confidentiality concerns are a significant barrier to HIV/STI testing and PrEP use
among adolescents. To allay these concerns, many states have enacted statutes permitting minors to waive
guardian consent for HIV/STI testing, treatment, and prevention services, including PrEP. Although these laws
are meant to protect youth from unwanted disclosure to their guardians—and thereby increase uptake of
HIV/STI testing and PrEP—there is a dearth of research assessing how these laws relate to behavior and
whether youth are aware of these laws. Our proposed study addresses this gap through pursuing three aims.
First, to assess longitudinal changes in minor consent laws for HIV/STI testing, treatment, and prevention from
1985–present, legal experts on our team will conduct the first-ever longitudinal content analysis of state minor
consent laws. A longitudinal dataset specifying and quantifying changes in the laws over time and by state will
be created and made publicly available. Second, we will longitudinally evaluate the effect of changes in minor
consent laws on HIV/STI testing and treatment among adolescents. To do this we will link the longitudinal legal
dataset created in the first aim to adolescent health behavior data in the National Survey of Family Growth.
Using a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach, we will evaluate whether changes in minor consent
laws were associated with changes in HIV/STI testing and treatment for youth overall and by sex, race/ethnicity
and sexual minority status. Third, we will assess relations between current knowledge and perceptions of
minor consent laws, HIV/STI testing, and PrEP uptake among adolescents via a cross-sectional online survey
of adolescents (N = 6120, ages 13-17 years) from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey will
examine: (1) knowledge and perceptions of current minor consent laws; (2) HIV/STI testing and PrEP
knowledge and uptake; and (3) best practices for disseminating this information to youth. Analyses will be
conducted for youth overall and by sex, gender, race/ethnicity and sexual minority status. This study will (1)
provide the most comprehensive, methodologically rigorous evaluation of minor consent legislation to date; (2)
identify for the first time how these statutory protections affect testing and treatment over time; and (3) identify
awareness and comprehension of these laws, as wel...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10077376
- **Project number:** 5R01MH119892-02
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Kimberly M Nelson
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $377,898
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-12-25 → 2024-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10077376

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10077376, Minor Consent Laws and HIV Prevention Among Adolescents in the United States (5R01MH119892-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-14 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10077376. Licensed CC0.

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