A self-completion questionnaire was used to survey HIV-preventive cognitions among secondary school students in Kabarole district, Uganda. An encouraging pattern of HIV-preventive beliefs was observed, suggesting that health education efforts have been effective in establishing basic transmission knowledge, accurate risk perception and an understanding of effective precautions. Further analysis explored the prerequisites of men and women's HIV-preventive self-efficacy, and intentions and tolerance of people with AIDS. Approximately a third of variance in men and women's condom use self-efficacy, half the variance in women's condom use intentions and a quarter of the variance in men's condom use intentions was accounted for by specified variables. Results offered support for psychological relationships proposed by social cognition models and suggested specific health education targets for young Ugandan men and women.
PIP: Questionnaires administered to 387 young people (mean age, 18.8 years) from nine randomly selected rural and urban secondary schools in Uganda's Kabarole District confirmed the effectiveness of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) health education efforts in this population. 84.7% of students indicated they had received school-based AIDS education and the overall knowledge level was high, exemplified by the fact that 83% were aware that individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can appear healthy. 37.1% of students perceived themselves as at risk of HIV infection in the next five years. On the other hand, 80.6% expressed the intent to use condoms and 73.1% felt able to acquire them. 73.1% opposed discrimination against persons with AIDS. Regression analysis indicated that about 25% of the variance in perceived condom use self-efficacy was accounted for by perceptions as to condom effectiveness. 49% of the variance in female's intention to use condoms was explained by self-efficacy, perceived condom effectiveness, perceived susceptibility to HIV, perceptions of AIDS severity, condom acquisition self-efficacy. and confidence in terms of partner discussions about sexual histories. In males, however, these six variables explained only 25% of the variance, suggesting that there are unidentified determinants of condom use. These findings did indicate a need for school-based skills development, possibly through role play, to reduce young people's discomfort with condom purchasing and discussions of sexual histories.