This thesis deals with the home or family and out of home as well as self relatedrnfactors that influence the motivation of the youth of higher educational insti~ utes in AddisrnAbaba to use and avoid mv - VCT services. In undertaking the study, the descriptivernsurvey method was used. Higher education institutes, parents and counsdors were firstrnidentified using the purposive sampling method. Then, three sample higher educationrninstitutes i.e. colleges owned privately and by government were selected randomly fromrnbusiness and medical colleges in Addis Ababa. There were also three focus groupsrnrandomly selected from Universities and Colleges in Addis Ababa. Questionnaire,rnstructured iiitcrv2ew forms :md focus grmlps disc3ss:ons were employed for dab!. coUectioJl~rn~he subjects of the study included a total of 505 youth (college students), 25 parents, 18rncounselors, and 18 focus group member youth under three focus groups from Universitiesrnand Colleges. Percentages, frequency distributions and gender, age, family level, access tornmultimedia and sexual experience differencesand parity indexes were applied in analyzingrnand reporting the results. The major findings revealed that: the attitude of the youthrnthemselves and the parents as well as the people in general towards mv and mv -VCTrnhas great influence on the usage and avoidance of mv - VCT services. Because ofrnstigmatization of mY, privacy and confidentiality are the most influential factors that thernyouth consider to use or avoid HIV - VCT services. HIV - VCT used female youth andrnyouth in general found in the age group 20 - 23 years are higher in percentage or morernprevalent than tested male youth and youth in general found in the age group 14 - 19 yearsrnrespectively in higher educlltion institutes in Addis Ababa. Recommendations forwardedrninclude: VCT services should be integrated into other services including on going medicalrncare and psychological as well as material and educational supports. A referral systemrnshould be developed in consultation with NGOs, community based organizations as well asrnwith networks of people living with HIV and AIDS. The youth themselves and the parentsrnas well as other groups of the community also should be sensitized through IEC usingrndifferent multimedia so that they can improve or promote their attitude and awareness ofrnHIV and the advantages-of using mv - vcr services to minimize VCT barrier. Therncounseling service should be more qualitative, practically meaningful and youth oriented. Itrnshould also take into consideration the different alternatives to minimize the cost and otherrnVCT barriers.