Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
FACTORS IN THE PRIMARY PREVENTION OF AIDS IN GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
Diss Abstr Int (Sci); 46(8):2799 1986. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/87632391 Charles KA; California School of Professional Psychology, Berkeley
Abstract:
This research attempted to apply health psychology principles to primary prevention of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Primary prevention among gay men, the group currently at greatest risk for AIDS, involves efforts to change sexual behaviors associated with virus transmission. Prior psychological research has demonstrated that health behaviors are, to some extent, dependent on an individual's perceived ability to control a perceived health threat. Two fundamental beliefs are seen as constituting perceived threat control: response efficacy, the belief that recommended coping actions(s) will reduce or control the threat; and personal efficacy, the belief that one is personally capable of successfully performing the recommended threat-coping action(s). Perceived threat, response efficacy, and personal efficacy were examined with measures of social skills, peer support, belief in AIDS health guidelines, and self-esteem to determine the extent to which each predicted sexual risk taking. It was hypothesized that respondents who reported high levels of sexual risk taking would demonstrate significantly lower scores on each of the independent measures than those respondents low in sexual risk taking. Respondents in this study were 824 gay and bisexual men in the San Francisco Bay Area who, in May of 1984, answered a questionnaire as part of a larger longitudinal study. The sample had a mean age of 34.8, was predominantly Caucasian, affluent, and well-educated. Hypotheses were tested by multiple regression and analyses of variance. Personal efficacy and belief in health guidelines emerged as strong predictors of sexual risk taking. Partial support was found for the hypotheses that perceived threat, response efficacy, and self-esteem were also significantly related to risk behaviors. Social skills and peer support, as defined in this study, did not emerge as significant factors. These findings broaden the application of personal efficacy theory to AIDS prevention. It is suggested that AIDS prevention programs would be more effective if greater attention was directed toward role-modeling and other cognitive-behavioral approaches which have been shown to enhance personal efficacy. Findings also suggest that prevention strategies target subgroups within the gay community to address diverse psychological and behavioral needs.
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*PREVENTION & CONTROL *Health Education Homosexuality Human Male *Sex Behavior THESIS
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
