Effects of HIV/AIDS Information on Attitudes Toward AIDS: A Cross-Ethnic Comparison of College Students

College students (N = 274) from five ethnic groups were administered an AIDS information questionnaire and the Attitudes Toward AIDS Scale (ATAS; Goh, in press) to determine the effects of AIDS information on attitudes toward AIDS. A series of chi-squares and multivariate analyses of variance indicated significant differences among ethnic groups on the usage of HIV/AIDS information, the self-reported degree of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, measured knowledge about HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS-related attitudes. Besides ethnicity, access to HIV/AIDS information and self-reported degree of knowledge about AIDS had significant effects on a person's measured knowledge of and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS.     

Reading About AIDS and Cognitive Coping Style: Their Effects on Fear of AIDS and Homophobia

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of reading about AIDS on fear of AIDS, knowledge of AIDS, and homophobia. Introductory psychology students read one of three magazine articles: one stressing the low likelihood of contracting AIDS through casual contact (reassuring article), one stressing the high likelihood of contracting AIDS through casual contact (alarming article), or a control article that did not mention AIDS. Compared to the control group, subjects who read the reassuring article were lower in fear of AIDS, whereas subjects who read the alarming article were higher; the articles had no effect on knowledge of AIDS or homophobia. In addition, subjects were classified on the basis of their cognitive coping style (high vs. low monitors) and sex. High monitors tended to be more fearful of AIDS but were neither better informed about AIDS nor more homophobic than low monitors. Men were more fearful of AIDS and more homophobic than women.     

AIDS and Perceived Change in Sexual Practice: An Analysis of a College Student Sample from California and Iowa1

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of belief about transmissibility of AIDS and concern about the disease on perceived changes in premarital sexual practices. It was posited that changes in sexual practices are most likely to occur when college students have more certainty about AIDS transmission and greater concern about AIDS. Based on this proposition, dating patterns, premarital sexual permissiveness, attitudes toward homosexuality, sexual orientation, and students' objective perception of AIDS as a problem were used as predictors of concern about AIDS and certainty of sexual transmission. Using a sample of 587 students in the state universities of California and Iowa and focusing on one type of sexual practices (i.e., condom use), it was found that concern about AIDS strongly increases the likelihood of using condoms. Contrary to our prediction, certainty about sexual transmission of AIDS was found to have a marginal effect on students' likelihood of condom use. Furthermore, it was found that monogamous dating, sexual permissiveness, and the degree of perception of AIDS as a problem significantly increase the likelihood of condom use if they are mediated by personal concern about AIDS. The implications are discussed with respect to the usefulness of a theoretical approach and its findings for education on AIDS prevention among college students.     

完善艾滋病人医疗保险政策的对策探讨

我国基本医疗保险并不拒绝艾滋病人,但由于艾滋病的特殊性,参保艾滋病人在享受基本医疗保险待遇的同时遇到了一些问题,对艾滋病参保人群和医疗保险制度本身都产生了一些影响。在对这些问题进行分析的基础上,有针对性地提出了一些对策,希望能对艾滋病人更好地享受基本医疗保险待遇有所帮助。     

广西部分人群艾滋病相关知识态度调查

通过对广西部分人群在预防艾滋病知识和对艾滋病人态度方面的情况调查,了解我区开展艾滋病健康教育的现状,探讨完善我区艾滋病预防宣传教育体系的途径;我区部分人群预防艾滋病知识知晓率高低不够均衡;我区艾滋病预防宣传教育收效明显,但有待完善。     

AIDS testing for employment purposes? facts and controversies

Employers are becoming directly involved in the AIDS crisis as the number of employees suffering from the disease grows. AIDS in the workplace raises a host of new questions, some of them highly controversial. This paper focuses on one such controversy—AIDS testing for employment purposes. Brief medical and legal overviews are provided before reviewing AIDS testing prevalence and diagnostic procedures. A number of arguments for and against AIDS testing for employment purposes are raised and examined against the facts. One of the conclusions is that AIDS test results are not a legally defensible basis for employment decisions. In light of this position, the paper ends with a discussion of employers' responsibilities in managing AIDS cases in the workplace.     

对安徽阜阳地区艾滋儿童社会心理支持问题的思考

艾滋病的快速传播不但直接威胁到人类的健康,而且对艾滋病家庭中儿童的心理产生了较大的伤害。开展对艾滋孤儿的社会心理支持,不仅需要心理咨询的介入,而且是一项社会救助的综合工程。针对安徽阜阳地区艾滋病流行的特点,以及艾滋病对儿童身心的影响,提出了为艾滋儿童提供社会心理支持的内容与措施。     

山西省艾滋病防治政策分析

阐述了艾滋病在山西省流行的现状,探讨了艾滋病引发的社会问题,分析了艾滋病防治条例、四免一关怀政策以及艾滋病自愿咨询与检测制度的执行情况以及在执行过程中所存在的主要问题,研究了山西省艾滋病防治工作相关基金的来源和使用情况,针对山西省在艾滋病防治工作中存在的问题,提出了艾滋病防治工作与社区工作相结合的建议。     

AIDS‐Related Stigma in Individuals With Other Stigmatized Identities in the USA: A Review of Layered Stigmas

AIDS‐related stigmas have profound negative impacts on people living with and those affected by HIV/AIDS. While a considerable body of work examines AIDS‐related stigma, it is less clear how AIDS stigmas affect individuals in relation to other stigmatized identities, particularly ethnic minorities. This review examines the literature on AIDS‐related stigma among these groups. The limited available research indicates that AIDS stigmas can seriously interfere with HIV testing, treatment, and care. In addition, prevention studies conducted with incarcerated adolescents, a group characterized by stigmatized identities and high risks for HIV, indicate that interventions for this population do not address stigmatized identities and demonstrate limited effects on risk reduction outcomes. Research is needed to examine stigma in primary prevention of HIV with an at‐risk stigmatized group.     

Psychosocial Responses of Hospital Workers to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)1

To assess the psychosocial responses of hospital workers to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), 237 hospital employees were interviewed. Information was obtained on frequency and nature of contact with AIDS patients; knowledge about AIDS; attitudes about AIDS and about homosexuality; and stresses related to AIDS care. Four indices were developed: AIDS-Contact, AIDS-Phobia, Homophobia, and AIDS-Stress. Misperceptions and fears about AIDS, as well as negative attitudes about individuals with the disease, were common. AIDS-Phobia was positively correlated with Homophobia and AIDS-Stress. AIDS-Phobia and AIDS-Stress were negatively correlated with AIDS-Contact. More patient contact was associated with lower levels of perceived stress, except for those with frequent but impersonal patient contact. Strategies for educational programs based on results are proposed.     

Counseling Gay Men with AIDS: Human Dimensions

As the incidence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) becomes more widespread, individuals with AIDS will present themselves for counseling in both public and private settings, and counselors will need to become familiar with the psychological manifestations of the AIDS virus. This article provides case material that demonstrates the emotional responses of gay men to AIDS. Specifically, denial, anger, rage, guilt, and shame are discussed with an emphasis on the human dimensions of AIDS.     

The Challenges of HIV/AIDS Counselling in Nigerian Secondary Schools: A Case Study of Kwara State

The study investigated the challenges of HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools as expressed by school counsellors in Kwara state, Nigeria. The respondents comprised 132 purposively selected counsellors in Kwara state public secondary schools (Male=85; Female=47). Data were collected with the use of a survey instrument and the data were quantitatively analyzed. The study identified the challenges hindering effective implementation of HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools as ignorance, non-existence of governmental policy on HIV/AIDS counselling in schools and negative attitudes of school administrators, students and teachers to HIV/AIDS. Geographical location and job status had significant influence on the respondents' views of the challenges facing HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools. The Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON) should enlighten Nigerians on the importance of HIV/AIDS counselling in schools.     

Responsibility judgments and responses to people living with AIDS in China: testing an attributional perspective

With one in five individuals in the world living in China, there is an urgent need for HIV prevention and understanding HIV/AIDS stigma in China. This study applies an attributional analysis to Chinese students' responses to AIDS, examining effects of attributions of causal controllability for HIV infection on reactions to people living with HIV/AIDS. Students (n = 309) read one of two scenarios describing an AIDS patient and manipulating controllability of AIDS onset. Controllability of AIDS onset contributed to responsibility judgments, less positive affect, and lower desires to personally interact with the patient. Responsibility judgments predicted interaction wishes directly and indirectly through positive affect. Results provide support for Weiner's interpersonal attributional model. Implications for responses to AIDS in China are discussed.     

Empowering Latino Church Leaders to Deal with the HIV-AIDS Crisis: A Strengths-Oriented Service Model

Ideology and attitudes of Latino church leaders in the United States toward HIV/AIDS are explored. A qualitative approach utilized with emergent categories including: a desire within the Latino church for greater acceptance of HIV/AIDS sufferers, the supposed contaminating influence of HIV/AIDS individuals over other church members, and the feelings of helplessness many church members experience in relation to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Understanding ideological resistance that prevents engagement is here identified and a strategy of empowerment of church leaders is recommended to overcome it including: adopting a strengths-oriented service model that focuses on resources religious denominations already have, as opposed to a financially driven, medically oriented service model that highlights what churches often do not have; church leaders educating health care agencies on how to use religious beliefs to motivate church members to work on behalf of HIV/AIDS patients; the power of doctrinal ideology in affecting church and civil society’s response to HIV/AIDS.     

AIDS in Uganda as a gender issue

This qualitative evaluation is based on data gathered during field trips to Uganda between 1981 and 1988. The first part of the paper describes the official view on prevalence (in 1988 Uganda, with 5455 reported cases, had the third highest prevalence of AIDS in Africa with the disease transmitted largely through heterosexual relations), the official view on the disease origin (the index case of AIDS occurred in 1983 in Kasensero village in the Rakai district), and the official control efforts (acknowledgement and publication of the magnitude of the epidemic and a 5-year prevention and control program with educational, medical, and epidemiological measures). The second part of the paper discusses public perceptions towards AIDS and its victims and highlights beliefs that assign a supernatural etiology to AIDS, social discrimination of AIDS victims, the consequences of the disease on the family and on sexuality and nuptiality. The next section looks at the impact of AIDS on health seeking behavior and the delivery of health care and notes that the private health delivery system has probably contributed to the spread of AIDS because of the use of unsterilized instruments, that unscrupulous practitioners are claiming cures, and that some people avoid health facilities for fear of infection. The fourth topic considered is the risk of HIV transmission because of sexual harassment perpetrated against women. This is followed by an assessment of 1) the affect of AIDS on women's reproductive rights and the controversy about transmission of the virus in breast milk, 2) the situation faced by women in high-risk professions, and 3) the acceptability of the condom. The paper ends by summarizing the policy and research implications revealed by this qualitative study.     

Predictors of Intention to Take Precautions Against AIDS Among Black College Students1

This research explored the relationship between behavioral intentions to engage in AIDS-risky sexual practices and a variety of variables that are theoretically and/or popularly assumed to be important factors in AIDS prevention. These variables included beliefs and knowledge about AIDS, fear of AIDS, perceived vulnerability of self and others, as well as probability that self and others on one's campus would contract AIDS, perceived efficacy to control exposure to AIDS, self-esteem, general locus of control, and past behavioral reaction to the threat of AIDS. General intention to “do something to protect oneself against AIDS,” and specific behavioral intention to use condoms in vaginal sex were measured and considered as possible proxies for future behavior. Data were collected from 124 black respondents in a southeastern university. In a series of multiple regression analyses, each of these measures of behavioral intentions was “predicted” from the other variables. Results showed that situational efficacy (to protect oneself from AIDS) was the best predictor of general intention, followed by reports of past behavioral changes as a result of the AIDS epidemic, and by knowledge. Proximal fear of AIDS was a negative predictor. For specific intentions, a specific belief about inconvenience in condom use was the best predictor, followed by past behavioral change, followed by knowledge. Normative beliefs, a belief that condoms would prevent disease, and distant threat of AIDS were also significant predictors. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

The colour of AIDS

Abstract

The African debate on HIV/AIDS has been approached in terms that either foreground its biomedical implications, on the one hand, or its economic challenges, on the other. From the biomedical perspective, HIV/AIDS is a health problem, calling for appropriate behaviour modification strategies; from the economic perspective, however, HIV/AIDS in Africa is viewed as a structural effect of capitalist-induced poverty. This article aims at providing a philosophical basis for understanding the African debate on HIV/AIDS. Its primary contention is that, in order to understand the African experience of HIV/AIDS, we need to overcome the crippling legacy of the modernist-colonialist discourse on Africa, in which “reason” is invariably regarded as the exclusive privilege of the (“white”) Western philosophical “mind”.     

HIV/AIDS Training in CACREP-Approved Counselor Education Programs

This article presents the results of a survey mailed to 64 CACREP-approved counselor education graduate programs to explore the amount and the level of training provided on HIV/AIDS. The results show that 51% of the programs offered at least a colloquium on basic information about HIV/AIDS. The survey also explored course work that might be indirectly related to HIV/AIDS, as well as other courses directly related to the topic. Suggestions are made for ways to incorporate HIV/AIDS training into counselor education programs.     

Changes in Fear of AIDS and Homophobia in a University Population

A survey measuring attitudes toward fear of AIDS and homophobia, taken in the fall of 1985, was repeated in the fall of 1989 on the same university population. The results indicated that whereas fear of AIDS decreased, the degree of homophobia remained essentially unchanged. In addition, although respondents were much more knowledgeable about AIDS in 1989 than in 1985, there was no evidence of any change in the relatively high correlation between the fear of AIDS and homophobia.     

受艾滋病影响儿童的歧视知觉在歧视经历和心理健康之间的作用分析

本研究旨在考察中国农村地区受艾滋病影响儿童(包括双孤儿童、单孤儿童和非孤儿童)在经历了父母感染艾滋病、父母因为艾滋病丧亡后的歧视经历和歧视知觉状况,及其对心理健康的影响.采用问卷调查了1221名被试,测查了他们的歧视经历、歧视知觉、心理健康(抑郁、孤独、自尊).经过数据分析发现:(1)歧视经历和歧视知觉存在显著的年龄段和儿童类别的差异,12岁及以下的儿童得分显著高于13岁及以上的,双孤儿童得分显著高于单孤儿童和非孤儿童;抑郁、孤独和自尊存在显著的儿童类别差异,双孤儿童、单孤儿童差于非孤儿童;且孤独和自尊还存在显著的年龄段差异,12岁以下的儿童差于13岁以上的;(2)不同歧视经历和歧视知觉的儿童在抑郁、孤独和自尊上存在显著差异,均是歧视经历、歧视知觉多的儿童抑郁和孤独严重、自尊低;(3)歧视经历对抑郁、孤独和自尊都有显著的预测作用,歧视知觉在其中起到了部分中介作用.