Search

HIV and AIDS are serious health threats in the United States and throughout the world. Persons with HIV/AIDS continue to contend with the stigma associated with their condition, and this is especially the case in the United States, where higher rates of infection are evidenced in the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community, adding a second stigma to an illness that already isolates and marginalizes so many families in our society. This article introduces the reader to several of the major issues in treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, as well as clinical and ethical considerations facing marriage and family therapists (MFTs) today.

This article presents the results of a study aimed at describing African American youths' attitudes toward peers with HIV/AIDS and identifying correlates of these attitudes based on the contact theory. Baseline data from a sample of African American, urban mothers and their youth (n = 197) participating in a family-based HIV prevention program were analyzed. In support of contact theory, preadolescents' close relationship to persons infected with HIV/AIDS was highly related to their attitudes. However, no relationship was found between maternal attitudes or communication variables and youth attitudes. The implications of youths' experience with persons with HIV/AIDS as part of prevention programming are discussed.

Research presented concerns the impact of health education on male and female prisoners' perceived risk of AIDS. Topics addressed include HIV risk in prison, designing education programs for inmates, and the relationship between risky behavior and risk perception.

This article presents research on how bereavement and disease expectancies affected asymptomatic HIV-positive gay men. This study confirmed that negative HIV-specific expectancies combined with bereavement significantly predicted symptom onset.

The victim-blaming tendency toward people with AIDS was examined in relation to gender, fraternity-sorority affiliation, classification (freshmen vs. others), religion (Catholic vs. others), and academic major (business college vs. others) in a survey of 818 students at a midwestern state university in the United States. Desired social distance from gay men and lesbians, the intervening variable in these relations, significantly mediated the indirect effect of fraternity-sorority affiliation, classification, and gender on the victim-blaming tendency. Gender and desired social distance were found to be significant direct determinants of the victim-blaming tendency toward people with AIDS. The study suggests that attitudes toward gay men and lesbians must change if attitudes toward people with AIDS are to change., A number of studies have suggested that there is a human tendency to attribute other people's successes to external factors and their failures to internal factors (D. T Miller & [...]

437 nursing staff members in seven AIDS residential health care facilities in New York City were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of the Death Anxiety Scale, the Coping Resources Inventory, the Comfort with Dying Patients Scale, and a Demographic Section. 197 usable questionnaires were returned. There were statistically significant racial or ethnic differences in scores on physical coping resources, with African-Americans reporting the fewest resources. No significant relations were found between scores on death anxiety, coping resources, and comfort with dying patients. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to assess the interaction of the Nursing group (professional or paraprofessional nurses), Death anxiety, and Coping resources with Comfort with dying patients. There were no statistically significant differences for death anxiety, coping resources, and comfort with dying patients by the Nursing group.

This study investigated AIDS awareness in secondary school pupils (mainly Northern Sotho and Xitsonga) in the Northern Province of South Africa. The randomly chosen sample included 622 Standard 9 pupils (254 boys and 368 girls) in the age range of 17 to 24 years (M of 19.3), who were administered a questionnaire on awareness of AIDS and socioeconomic status. Over 72% of the questions about AIDS were correctly answered, which suggests a fair amount of accurate information about AIDS; however, 18% were of the opinion that 'AIDS does not exist' and 19% that 'there is a cure for AIDS.' Analysis of variance indicated no relationships for sex, age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status with correct answers.

This study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms serve as a mediator, moderator, or both, between maternal HIV status (absence vs. presence of HIV) and child depressive symptoms. Participants were 224 noninfected children, ages 6 to 11, and their mothers, 38% of whom were HIV-infected. Initial analyses indicated that HIV-infected mothers and their children reported more depressive symptoms than noninfected mothers and their children. The primary analyses suggested that maternal depressive symptoms play a moderating, but not a mediating, role as the direction of the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and child depressive symptoms differed between HIV-infected and noninfected groups. Explanations for the findings are offered and implications for prevention and intervention programs are considered.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become an epidemic in the United States. AIDS dementia complex (ADC) is a neurological dysfunction which has been indicated in 25-90% of AIDS patients, 30-40% of HIV-infected patients, and may be the only presenting manifestation of AIDS. Researchers have investigated many aspects of ADC including clinical features, etiology, epidemiology and prevalence, diagnosis (psychological parameters and laboratory investigations such as CSF, EEG, CT, MRI, PET, and ERP), assessment, neurological features (including neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological measures, and neuropathology), prognosis, and treatment. The research is controversial, complex, and contradictory. A discussion of the many areas of ADC and many hypotheses will be included.

In my hard times, I felt I knew Death well. Once I wrote, 'I have courted Death so often/He lives with me.' But for some years now, my life has [...]

We investigate the role that instrumental and symbolic functions of attitudes play in the rejection of people infected with HIV. In a series of studies (total N = 431), we manipulate the symbolic component of AIDS, by comparing it to a fictitious disease that is identical in every way to AIDS, excepting its symbolic association with homosexuality and IV drug use. Two studies indicated that the symbolic component had no effect on either social distance or perceptions of disease severity. A third study indicated that instrumental aspects of severity, contagiousness, and treatability were significant determinants of social distance. A fourth study found that the stigma of association with homosexuality increased a mild disease's stigma. A fifth study showed that previous research showing the importance of a symbolic component in AIDS-related attitudes may have relied on a confounded measure of the symbolic component of attitudes. These 5 studies suggest the importance of both instrumental and symbolic attitudes in illness. Instrumental functions seem to outweigh the impact of symbolic functions of AIDS-related attitudes.

Scales were developed to measure the tendencies to blame AIDS victims or the society in which victims live. Data from a sample of 874 students were used to examine the construct validity and reliability of the scales. The list-wise deletion reduced the sample size to the usable sample size of 824. The data showed satisfactory validity and reliability of the scales so they may be used to study attitudes toward those who are suffering from AIDS and related problems.

The impact of AIDS on families has received little attention, and the impact of multiple AIDS-related loss has received almost none. Yet the numbers of families affected by multiple AIDS-related loss continues to grow along with the numbers of AIDS-related deaths. This disaster offers an opportunity to appreciate the importance of families of choice as an alternative or augmentation to families of origin. Multiple AIDS-related loss affects many families, most severely the families of hemophiliacs, homosexuals, and intravenous drug users. Family therapists are in an ideal position to help families cope with multiple loss and should be aware of the unique concerns faced by survivors. In addition to addressing these unique concerns, this article offers suggestions for clinical work with families and individuals affected by multiple AIDS-related loss.

The study investigated the effect of adding a recommendation to use condoms to fear-arousing AIDS public service announcements (PSAs) on subjects' intentions to use condoms and taking of free condoms. Sexual content of the AIDS PSA and subject gender were also varied. A sample of 112 men and 107 women rated the effectiveness of 1 of 8 fear-arousing AIDS PSAs. Four PSAs ended with a message to 'Use condoms to reduce the risk. For more information call _____.' An identical set of PSAs ended with only the telephone number for more information. Results showed that the recommendation had no effect on intentions to use condoms. However, men exposed to a fear-arousing PSA with the recommendation took significantly more condoms than men in the no-recommendation condition. Men also took significantly more condoms than women in the recommendation condition. The results are interpreted in terms of the AIDS risk reduction model (Catania, Kegeles, & Coates, 1990).

Using survey data of a Dutch national sample, the present paper examines how people's willingness to engage in personal contact with persons with AIDS (PWAs) is influenced by different emotional reactions to PWAs. Results indicate that each of the three measured emotional reactions to PWAs (fear, irritation, and pity) independently predicts subjects' readiness to have personal contact with PWAs. Disconfirming the often assumed relationship between 'homophobia' and fear of PWAs, it was found that attitudes toward homosexuals are unrelated to fear of PWAs. Instead, these attitudes are associated with emotions of a more aggressive nature (irritation). Risk perception seems to be related to the emotions of fear and irritation, whereas responsibility attribution seems to be negatively associated with pity.

Teenagers in the United States are one of the populations whose HIV infection rates are increasing most rapidly. This study was designed to measure college students' knowledge of HIV transmission methods using Kittleson and Venglarcik's HIV Transmission Survey. Participants (N = 167) were divided into two groups, 99 students from a rural background and 68 students from an urban background. Students from an urban background were significantly more knowledgeable about documented HIV transmission modes than students from a rural background. Men were significantly less aware of documented HIV transmission modes than women. These results suggest that education about AIDS needs to be improved. The current educational procedures do not properly inform students in a fashion which exhibits the true risk of infection and those behaviors which increase risk. Fifteen years after the discovery of the HIV virus students are still largely unaware that they are at risk for contracting a fatal disease.

Results of 21 studies determined the degree of stigma associated with AIDS compared to the degree of stigma associated with other comparable conditions. Focused contrast analyses indicate a greater degree of stigma expressed toward individuals with AIDS than toward individuals with other comparable illnesses (r = .22), with college students (r = .23) expressing a slightly higher degree of stigma than health professionals (r = .10). A greater degree of stigma was obtained with scales measuring intended social interaction (r = .26) than was obtained with scales containing items measuring attitudes and values (r = .16). Effect sizes did not differ significantly as a function of the type of control condition used.

The present research assessed the relationship between therapists' beliefs and ethical decision making when working with clients who are HIV positive and who refuse to warn sexual partners or use safe sex practices. The sample consisted of licensed psychologists in Florida. Results demonstrated a significant relationship between homophobia and likelihood of breaching confidentiality. In addition, scenarios depicting highly dangerous clients yielded higher breach scores than scenarios depicting less dangerous clients. The study demonstrated that personal bias may affect professional ethical decision making. Discussion focuses on the need for continued education and self-monitoring in work with highly sensitive and often stigmatized client groups.

Weiner's attributional model of helping behavior is used to examine the relationship between the perceived controllability of the onset of AIDS, the affective reactions of pity and anger, and helping judgments. In this model, the effect of the perceived controllability of another person's need on helping is mediated by pity and anger. In the present study, respondents read one of five scenarios describing a friend who had just been diagnosed with AIDS. The cause of the disease was manipulated in the scenarios. Knowledge about HIV transmission measures and respondent's gender were added as control variables to the original model, which was tested by using path analysis. The findings partially support Weiner's model. The effect of the perceived onset controllability of AIDS on helping judgments was mediated by pity, but not by anger. Respondents' anger toward a friend with AIDS did not inhibit help-giving.

In view of the high mortality rates associated with a diagnosis of AIDS, we investigated gay and bisexual (G/B) men's levels of death fear and threat and their relation to religiosity. Participants were grouped into three categories: forty-three who were seropositive for HIV (the HIV + group), sixty-eight who were seronegative but who were involved as volunteers or professionals in AIDS hospices, wards or organizations (the AIDS-involved group), and fifty-five who had no direct involvement in AIDS other than their risk group membership .the uninvolved group). We found that 1) the HIV + group reported greater fear of premature death, 2) the AIDS involved group demonstrated significantly lower levels of death concern than the other two groups, and 3) both the involved and HIV + groups reported higher levels of religious belief than the uninvolved group of G/B men. Finally, intrinsic religious orientation was negatively related to both overall death threat as measured by the Threat Index and fears specific to the possibility of an afterlife, but not to other components of death concern as measured by the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale.

Many gay men who have tested negative for HIV were sexually active prior to a general awareness of how HIV is transmitted. Based on the work of Lifton (1980), such HIV-negative gay men may be considered 'survivors' since they have witnessed the deaths of many members of their community and have been spared. Survivors may be expected to manifest one or more of three survivor reactions: guilt about surviving (HIV-related guilt), anxiety about dying (AIDS-related death anxiety), and blunted affect. The present study employed structural equation modeling in samples of HIV-negative (N = 129) and HIV-positive (N = 95) gay men to assess psychological and behavioral variables predictive of the presence of a survivor reaction. Survivor reactions were uniquely predicted among HIV-negative gay men. The larger the number of sexual partners HIV-negative gay men reported having had prior to 1984, the more likely they were to experience a survivor reaction. Greater satisfaction with social support from gay friends, and, indirectly, gay-related community group involvement, was associated with being less likely to experience a survivor reaction.

The present article highlights the mental health needs of children living with loved ones who have AIDS or HIV infection. In addition the article describes an intervention program which is being developed to meet the needs of the children and their families. Children who live in families affected by AIDS and HIV infection, like children who live with other life-threatening illnesses, are vulnerable to psychological distress. They experience numerous separations from parents, changes in the nature and predictability of emotional nurturing, concerns about loss, disruptions in routine and contact with peers, and economic hardship. AIDS and HIV infection present the additional stressors that stem from discrimination, stereotyping, and social ostracism. Finally, many families living with AIDS or HIV infection are disenfranchised, living under the pall of poverty and substance abuse. The intervention program described is being implemented in an urban community mental health clinic to meet the diverse mental health needs of the children living in these families. Preliminary implications of the program are discussed so as to begin a dialogue with other agencies who are challenged to meet the needs of this heterogeneous population.

Astudy of the effects of coping strategies and social support on psychological adjustment in 27 male AIDS patients who were intravenous drug users (IVDUs) revealed that only seeking social support strategy and social support from family led to psychological well-being. Other strategies such as positive reappraisal and planful problem solving were not related to psychological adjustment, and support from friends also did not contribute to effective coping. These unusual results may be due to IVDU characteristics or the lack of methodological processes in the study.

The present study investigated the effects of individual differences along the dimension of dispositional optimism-pessimism on comparative risk perception in relation to the prospect of developing AIDS. 104 university students completed the Life Orientation Test of Scheier and Carver and estimated the likelihood of AIDS happening to themselves and the average university student. A split at the median on the Life Orientation Test divided subjects into optimists and pessimists. Dispositional optimists and pessimists rated their own likelihood of developing AIDS as less than that of the average student. Moreover, subjects classified as optimistic and pessimistic did not differ significantly in their ratings of comparative risk perception.

The authors examined the role of 'perceived loomingness' in fear of HIV. Perceived loomingness refers to perceptions of rapid forward movement and instantaneous changes in the distance and danger of a potential threat (Riskind, 1992). One hundred and twenty undergraduates rated vignettes of two public encounters with an HIV-positive stranger. High-HIV fear subjects perceived greater loomingness and danger in these vignettes than did low-HIV fear subjects. Regression analyses that tested for a mediated model confirmed that the perceptions of loomingness may spark threat cognitions (such as the probability and imminence of harm), which, in turn, lead to fear. As predicted by the harm-looming model, loomingness also had some effects on fear that were not mediated by such standard threat cognitions.

Multiculturalism has been described as a 'fourthforce' in understanding human behavior This perspective recognizes the importance of cultural variables, such as gender and ethnicity, in all clinical work. A multicultural perspective is particularly important in understanding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease because acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has been defined by cultural variables. This is so both in terms of the transmission of the virus and in the psychosocial issues that have emerged. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, an existing model for assessing and counseling clients with HIV-related concerns is presented with an emphasis on how an increased focus on multicultural issues might enhance this model. This is supported by an overview of the literature on HIV from a multicultural perspective. Next, clinical cases are presented to show how counseling interventions might be enhanced by recognizing multicultural issues. Finally, an examination of institutional responses to HIV-related multicultural issues is presented.

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.

The relationship of control beliefs to psychological adjustment was investigated in a sample of 24 gay men diagnosed with AIDS, participants in the University of California, Los Angeles site of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Distinctions between generalized contingency beliefs and specific competence beliefs and between personal and vicarious control beliefs were included in the questionnaire and interview measures administered. The results support these distinctions and indicate that beliefs in personal control over day-to-day symptoms and over course of illness were positively related to adjustment, whereas beliefs in control by others over course of illness and over medical care and treatment were negatively related to adjustment. These relationships appeared to be strongest for men who reported poorer health. These associations were not accounted for by locus of control beliefs, negative affectivity, or time since diagnosis with AIDS.

84 college students responded to Coopersmith's self-esteem scale, Moore and Barling's AIDS Questionnaire, and a background survey querying them as to their sex, race, religion, frequency of church attendance, marital status, college classification, and sources of their sex education. The results indicated that self-esteem scores correlated positively with having received sex education from the parents and negatively with not having received sex education from any of the listed sources. More frequent church attenders were more likely to have received sex education from their parents and to score higher in foreclosure status with regard to attitudes towards AIDS. Persons who scored higher on moratorium status for attitudes towards AIDS were less likely to have received sex education in high school, were more likely not to have received sex education from formal sources, and reported being less likely to use condoms.

An evaluation of three cases of patients with an irrationally exaggerated fear of contracting AIDS is presented. Two of the three patients have a history of obsessive compulsive disorders and the third has a history of mental illness within his family. All Three are homosexual and suffer from guilt relating to this and have also been treated with anti-depressants.

In this study we examined the influence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related bereavement on psychological distress from 1985 through 1991. We predicted that this relation would be influenced by personal knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and symptoms consistent with HIV-related illness. Interview data collected each year on a cohort of 746 gay men included information on the deaths and illnesses of network members caused by AIDS, as well as on psychological distress, sedative use, HIV-related symptoms, and HIV infection status. Significant main effects of bereavement were found in each year after controlling for both losses occurring from 1 to 2 years previously and for AIDS and HIV health status. The intensity and duration of these bereavement effects diminished over time. Groups of men who were both bereaved and classified as having AIDS or were HIV positive reported the highest level of distress in every year compared with the 3 other groups.

A group of adolescents were presented with a hypothetical situation of a friend with AIDS to determine how they would deal with such situations. Adolescents employed a wide variety of coping mechanisms such as problem solving, emotional expression, cognitive restructuring and social support. Girls and distressed subjects chose more adaptive mechanisms than boys and non-distressed subjects. The results of this study could be utilized by health educators and counselors in dealing with adolescent cases of AIDS.

Sets of individual-psychological and sociodemographic variables for predicting self-reported AIDS-relevant behavioral change were examined. The self-completing questionnaire used in the study contained scales of knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, sex and drug abuse experience scales, and six behavioral change scales. It was anonymously administered to 2,655 young people of both sexes, 15-30 years of age, living in 18 cities and towns, regularly employed or attending school. The overall level of knowledge was high and the attitudes moderately liberal. Regression analyses showed that only a small fraction of variance in any of the six behavioral change criteria (sex, drugs, personal concern, chance of contracting the disease, desire for more knowledge, and nonfunctional practices) could be attributed to the four predictors presumed to influence the criteria directly (sex risk index, drugs risk index, knowledge, and attitudes). The prediction improved when another 10 variables with assumed indirect influence were included. Socioeconomic status and the drug abuse risk index were most predictive of behavior change. Knowledge and attitudes proved to be poor predictors. It is stressed that the social and cultural specifics in planning prevention activities must be observed.

Less is known about the effects of primary relationships on psychological health for homosexual men and women than for heterosexual men and women. Given the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the primary relationships of homosexual men are especially important to examine at the present time. Using questionnaire data collected from 259 homosexual men, this study examined the effects of status and quality of relationship on psychological health. Analysis indicated that homosexual men who are in primary relationships experience fewer depressive symptoms and greater well-being than other homosexual men but that being in a relationship does not predict changes in these outcomes over time. Men who report high quality of relationship show improvements over time in psychological health. These findings are discussed in light of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

This study examined the impact of social support and HIV-related conditions on depression among 508 gay men participating in the San Francisco Men's Health Study, a population-based prospective study of single men aged 25-54 years. The number of HIV-related symptoms experienced significantly predicted depression cross-sectionally and 1 year later. Satisfaction with each of three types of social support (emotional, practical, informational) was inversely correlated with depression. Men who were more satisfied with the social support they received were less likely to show increased depression 1 year later. Degree of satisfaction with informational support appeared especially critical in buffering the stress associated with experiencing HIV symptoms. These findings offer valuable insight in understanding the psychological needs of gay men confronting the AIDS crisis and have important practical implications for designing mental health services to meet those needs., Various support systems and AIDS-related symptoms on the development of depression among gay men are correlated. Subjects are 508 single, young adult to middle aged gay men from San Francisco. Regression analysis of the one year longitudinal study followed-up on the subjects psychology after initial screening using interviews and blood testing for the AIDS virus. The presence of symptoms instigates depression among AIDS victims although social support systems primarily information, tend to prevent distress. These findings would help in understanding adaptive mechanisms of AIDS infected individuals.

The 'just world' hypothesis has been used to explain victim blaming, or the attributions that people have for why a person has been victimized. Based on some of the premises of the just world hypothesis it was predicted that people would be more likely to attribute blame to a gay man with AIDS than they would to a heterosexual man with AIDS. From a sample of 79 undergraduates students it was found that a gay man was given more personal blame for contracting AIDS than a heterosexual man. Furthermore, the more intolerant people were towards gay men and the more fearful they were of contact with AIDS, the more likely they were to blame the gay man for contracting AIDS. Although preliminary, these results indicate the usefulness of the just world hypothesis for understanding the stigmatization of people with AIDS.

Dementia is common among patients in the last stages of AIDS. Although AIDS may permit many opportunistic infections to attack the brain, many researchers believe that many of the cases of dementia may the direct results of infection of the brain with the AIDS virus itself. This suspicion has led to numerous attempts to identify cognitive impairments in subjects infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the agent that causes AIDS, prior to the onset of AIDS. Most of these studies have found little or no impairment in the intellectual function of these patients. Research has continued for signs of change; although any changes in intellectual ability would be too small to be important in a patient's everyday life, these changes could provide an important diagnostic tool, which might guide treatment. The authors suggest that current methods of neuropsychological assessment might not be precise enough to detect subtle changes among HIV-infected patients. Therefore, a series of computerized tests were devised to evaluate many aspects of a subject's mental function without the intrusion of the subjectivity of a human examiner. The computer tests measured the reaction times on choice tests, memory, and quickness of motor responses. The computerized tests were used to evaluate 507 homosexual or bisexual men who were not infected with HIV, 439 men who were infected, and 47 men who were infected and were developing symptoms of AIDS. Abnormalities in mental function were observed in 28 percent of the symptomatic patients. However, only 14 percent of the asymptomatic HIV-infected patients had signs of abnormal mental function. This was not significantly different from the 13 percent who were abnormal among the uninfected control subjects. These results indicate that intellectual abnormalities among asymptomatic HIV-infected subjects are quite uncommon. The present study also illustrates the usefulness of the computer in the neuropsychological analysis of large numbers of patients in an objective and accurate fashion. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

The cumulative psychosocial impact of multiple deaths due to AIDS within a single, gay community was examined. A personal construct psychology model of bereavement was used to generate hypotheses about the psychosocial functioning of the members of two gay communities differing in the extent of their bereavement. Their psychosocial functioning was assessed through content analysis of their responses to an open-ended interview question. Two hundred fifteen men participated in the study. We hypothesized that the more bereaved community would show more anxiety (in the form of death, mutilation, separation, anxiety, and guilt), depression, and indirectly expressed anger. The hypotheses for anxiety and anger were supported, but not the hypothesis for depression.

This study examined the relationship between object relations and AIDS self-care behavior among 509 urban college students. The literature indicates that maturity of object relations is related to comfort in interpersonal relations and to taking responsibility for self-care. These concepts are widely accepted by psychoanalytic psychologists but have rarely been tested empirically. Object relations, measured by the Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, was significantly related to AIDS knowledge as measured by the AIDS Prevention Survey of Thomas and to self-reported safer sex behavior, measured by Bassman's HIV Infection Prevention Scale. Knowledge about AIDS correlated with self-reported sexual risk behavior, and with a low level of self-reported social behavior aimed at preventing AIDS. Implications of these findings for public health education policy are discussed.

Addressed both the psychological frailness and strength in an AIDS-affected community. The gay community in Sydney, Australia, was represented by men who were seropositive (n = 60) and voluntary caregivers (n = 60). They were compared with two samples of men outside the gay community, who were ill with non-AIDS-related medical conditions (n = 30), and well (n = 30). Their psychological frailness and strength were measured by content analysis scales. Both the seropositive men and the caregivers showed the frailness of anxiety, indirectly expressed anger and helplessness, but also the compensating strength of greater personal competence and good feeling relative to the other men. The men who were seropositive or had other illnesses showed the predicted frailness of anxiety and depression but neither indirectly expressed anger nor helplessness. The seropositive men and caregivers of the gay community differed from each other only in the high levels of depression of the former.

It has been well documented that people with negative emotional reactions to sex (e.g., 'erotophobia,' 'sex guilt') have less knowledge about contraception than do people with more positive reactions. Recent research has suggested that this deficit is not related to an inability to learn the information, but is due at least in part to the fact that erotophobics actively avoid contraceptive information. The current study was designed to examine the role of erotophobia and high self-esteem in resistance to learning sexual information. More specifically it compared pretest and posttest knowledge of contraception and AIDS in high self-esteem and low self-esteem, erotophobia, and erotophilic women in a university class on human reproduction. As expected, high self-esteem erotophobic subjects were s less likely than other subjects to retain contraceptive and AIDS information presented in the class. Implications of this study for contraceptive and AIDS educational strategies are discussed.

This study assessed differences in the psychological adjustment of gay men who tested positive for the antibody to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Twenty-one were symptomatic for AIDS, and 27 were asymptomatic. A group of 15 gay men who tested negative for the HIV was included as a comparison group. Men in the three groups were equivalent on demographic variables. Symptomatic men reported more health problems than either asymptomatic or seronegative men. Relative to men who were symptomatic, those who were asymptomatic reported more death anxiety, less optimism, and greater severity of psychological distress, and reported more frequent use of avoidance and distancing as coping strategies. The poor psychological functioning of asymptomatic subjects was attributed to the uncertainty regarding their future health status. Generally, positive psychological well-being of symptomatic and asymptomatic men was related to the infrequent use of avoidance coping strategies and high satisfaction with perceived social support.