Couples set prerequisite tests before hooking up

A trip to the clinic may become a first date as more young couples have taken it upon themselves to know if their partner is STD-free before becoming sexually active in their relationships.

Clinical psychologist Carl Hindy said he has seen an increase in sexually transmitted disease testing among college-educated young people, "certainly among people at a life stage where they're thinking about a longer future timeline."

Hindy, an relationship expert, wrote If This Is Love, Why Do I Feel So Insecure?, a book about anxiety, jealousy and depression in relationships. He said if a couple is able to discuss personal issues like STD testing early in a relationship, it is a positive indictor of their future together and their ability to communicate later in the relationship.

Hindy said though a discussion like this may be difficult, it reveals more about the relationship than just necessary safety knowledge.

"If you never ask the challenging questions of a future partner, then you'll never know how they will handle challenging situations," he said.

School of Education freshman Alexandra Klove said she got tested for STDs before becoming sexually active because her doctor recommended she go through the procedure.

"After talking about it in my first relationship, we both knew that we didn't have any STDs, so that sort of added an element of trust," Klove said.

Students in relationships who have not been tested said they either knew about their significant others' past relationships or neither had previous sexual partners.

Stefanos Sitaras, discussion leader for the Hepatitis B Support Group at the Boston Medical Center, said testing has a happy medium.

"There's of course the extreme, like getting tested before a one-night stand . . . in that case, you should just use protection," he said. "It depends on the kind of relationship -- it should be done whenever people are contemplating a long-term relationship."

Boston University Student Health Services offers sexually transmitted infection testing and student health insurance covers all but rapid HIV testing. Rapid testing takes 20 minutes and costs $65.

Some students said they were unaware BU offers the tests, but Student Health Services director David McBride said there are a small number of students taking advantage of the testing services offered before having sex.

"Most college students honestly don't think ahead," he said in an email. "The late adolescent developmental phase is very much focused on the next five minutes, not as much on the future."

McBride said students talking to other students about sexual responsibility might help.

Planned Parenthood also provides confidential testing for students, said spokeswoman Lisa Dacey.

"We're very accessible and close to BU," Dacey said. "Students are treated with respect and given quality healthcare."

Students said they felt testing could indirectly decrease the spread of STDs, because the couple would know the information and could take precautions.

"With so many diseases out there, I definitely think it's something couples should do," said College of Engineering freshman Alessandra Forcucci. "A couple of my friends have gone to the clinic just to make sure they were healthy."