Social network effects of HIV/AIDS risk knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors

HIV/AIDS is a major concern of many people within society. Some people within society are at a greater risk of infection than others. Presently, inner city black adolescents have a high risk for HIV infection (Jemmott, Jemmott, and Fong 1992). Therefore, a need exists for the investigation of the factors related to the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors placing teens at risk for contracting HIV. This study examines how the form and content of teenagers' social networks can influence HIV infection risk knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.This study resulted from Project SAMM (Stopping AIDS is My Mission) created by Dr. Victoria Cargill. Project SAMM is a community-based AIDS education program that seeks to instruct adolescents of color within the inner city on the transmission and consequences of HIV and the ways to which they can reduce their risk of infection. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA's, and hierarchical regression are used to measure the extent to which social network variables can influence HIV/AIDS attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors.Associations with behavior patterns did have some influence upon the attitudes and behaviors of teens as social control and differential association theories would have predicted. General social network elements were also found to have some influence upon the dependent variables. Conventional and deviant associations can be modeled along with more general aspects of social networks in order to examine the effects social relations have upon the lives of teens. Social network analytic techniques can be of use in designing intervention programs seeking to reduce risk behaviors within communities.