Adolescents are the fastest growing at-risk group for contracting AIDS because of their developmental characteristics, lifestyle practices, and their youthful sense of invulnerability. In the absence of a cure, prevention has been recognized as the only defense against the disease and education is seen as the key to prevention. Using a questionnaire based on the PRECEDE model and developed by Alteneder et al. (1992) a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was employed to assess the impact of an AIDS educational program on junior high school students in central St. John's, Newfoundland. One hundred and ninety-four students completed the pretest. The students were then randomized into either the intervention group (N=82) or the control group (N=98). The experimental and control group were not significantly different on any of the characteristics related to demographics or previous knowledge related to AIDS. The results were analyzed using means, standard deviations and a repeated measures analysis of variance. Findings indicate that there was a significant change in AIDS knowledge in the intervention group (p

"The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current levels of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of seventh and eighth grade students in WhitmanCounty, Washington. This was done to form baseline data on seventh grade students and to determine if a significant difference existed between Whitman County eighth grade students and previously nationally surveyed eighth grade students. A modified portion of the National Adolescent School Health Survey was used to collect this data. The participants in the study were seventh and eighth grade students from eight Whitman County public schools. Four null hypotheses were tested at the .01 and .05 levels of significance. Analyses of the data indicated that significant differences did exist in the areas of at-risk behavior, AIDS transmission, AIDS prevention, and diagnosis and prognosis of AIDS. All four null hypotheses were rejected"--Document.

There hasn't been a resource to inform readers about the HIV risk confronting our adolescent population--until now! In Adolescents and AIDS, leading researchers in health, medicine, sociology, and psychology describe the risks to this vulnerable population. Divided into three parts (epidemiology, prevention/risk reduction, and policy), this comprehensive book addresses not only adolescents in general, but includes specific chapters on high-risk populations such as minority, incarcerated and homeless youth. The authors explore the data and theoretical underpinnings necessary for designing and implementing effective risk-reduction and prevention programs by approaching the AIDS epidemic as a social and developmental crisis that adolescents are ill-prepared to address. While proposing appropriate theoretical models for behavior change, the book also evaluates the effectiveness of various intervention strategies ranging from school-based programs to mass-media approaches and offers public policy recommendations for intervening for this population. Health professionals, researchers, policy analysts, clinicians, counselors, and students will find this timely text a valuable resource.