ABSTRACT
In the last three years there has been an increasing amount of research on risk perception and HIV/AIDS. Much of this work has been concerned with attitudes and behaviour change as a result of public education campaigns or local education strategies. More recently, emphasis has been placed upon perceptions of severity and vulnerability to HIV and AIDS and the influence of these variables on the intention to engage in safer sex and drug practices. This work has been guided by a variety of social psychological models (e.g. the Health Belief Model, Rosenstock, 1966, 1974; Protection Motivation Theory, Rogers, 1975). While it is clear that the seriousness of HIV has been communicated through health education campaigns (e.g. Wober, 1988), among some a general feeling of ‘invulnerability’ to HIV and AIDS still prevails (e.g. Abrams et al., 1990a, 1990b).
