Attitudes About HIV/AIDS for Hispanic College Students

Attitudes About HIV/AIDS for Hispanic College Students‌

RAFFY R. LUQUIS,1 Penn State Harrisburg

PATRICIA BARTHALOW KOCH, The Pennsylvania State University

The HIV/AIDS attitudes scale for Hispanics was adapted from the attitudes survey used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Dawson, 1990) and the Nurse’s Attitudes about AIDS Scale (Preston, Young, Koch, & Forti, 1995).

Description

The scale includes 26 items to measure attitudes about HIV and people who may be infected, sexual behaviors and safer sexual practices, and discussion and learning about AIDS.

Response Mode and Timing

Participants respond according to how they feel about each item using a 5-point Likert scale from Strongly Agree (1) to Strongly Disagree (5).

Scoring

A mean score is calculated for the scale, with 1 representing negative attitudes to 5 representing positive attitudes. The following items are reverse scored: 1, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 25, and 26.

Reliability

Reliability analysis was conducted on the scale using a Cronbach’s alpha measure of the internal consistency. As part of a study with Hispanic and non-Hispanic college students (Luquis, 1991), the reliability analysis resulted in an alpha of .85 for the entire scale.

Validity

The initial version of the scale was subject to focus groups analysis with Hispanic college students to determine culturally relevant issues to be included. The revised instrument was pilot-tested with Hispanic and non-Hispanic students for feedback regarding content, format, and vocabulary. The English version of the instrument was translated into Spanish and back-translated into English by two separate bilingual professionals to ensure the validity of the Spanish version of the scale.

Attitudes About HIV/AIDS

The following statements reflect attitudes about HIV and AIDS. Circle the number that best describes your feeling about each statement.

Scale: 1 = Strongly Agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = Uncertain, 4 = Disagree, 5 = Strongly Disagree

  1. I believe I have enough information about HIV/AIDS to protect myself.

  2. I believe women should not have sexual intercourse before marriage.

  3. Activities that spread HIV/AIDS, such as some forms of sexual behaviors, should be illegal.

  4. I feel uncomfortable when coming in contact with gay men because of the risk that they may have HIV/AIDS.

  5. Civil rights laws should be enacted/enforced to protect people with HIV/AIDS from job and housing discrimination.

  6. Male homosexuality is obscene and vulgar.

  7. I believe men should not have sexual intercourse before marriage.

  8. HIV test results should be confidential to avoid discrimination against people with positive results.

  9. I feel that more time should be spent teaching students about HIV/AIDS in my college courses.

  10. People should not blame the homosexual community for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

  11. AIDS is a punishment for immoral behavior.

  12. I feel secure that I have reduced all risk of personally contracting HIV.

  13. It would not bother me to attend class with a person with HIV/AIDS.

  14. Anyone who has had more than one sexual partner is promiscuous.

  15. I could comfortably discuss HIV/AIDS with a friend.

  16. I would not avoid a friend if she/he had HIV/AIDS.

  17. If I discovered that my roommate had HIV/AIDS, I would move out.

  18. I do not believe in using condoms.

  19. I could not discuss HIV/AIDS with my parents.

  20. I would date a person with HIV/AIDS.

  21. I would feel comfortable discussing HIV/AIDS in a course.

  22. I would not engage in sexual intercourse before marriage.

  23. I would feel comfortable asking a new partner about his/her sexual history.

  24. I would use HIV/AIDS as an excuse to avoid any sexual relationships.

  25. I would limit myself to one sexual partner.

  26. I would use a condom every time I had sex.

Actitudes Acerca del VIH/SIDA

Las siguientes oraciones reflejan actitudes acerca del VIH/SIDA. Circule el numero qua mejor describe tu reacción a cada oración. Escala: 1 = Muy de Acuerdo, 2 = De Acuerdo, 3 = Inseguro, 4 = En Desacuerdo, 5 = Muy en Desacuerdo

  1. Creo tener suficiente información acerca del VIH/SIDA para protegerme.

  2. Creo que las mujeres no deberían tener relaciones sexuales antes de casarse.

  3. Actividades que trasmiten el VIH/SIDA, tal como algunos comportamientos sexuales, deberían ser ilegales.

  4. Me siento incomodo cuando estoy en contacto con hombres homosexuales por miedo de que puedan tener VIH/SIDA.

  5. Leyes de Derechos Civiles deben ser promulgadas e impuestas para proteger personas con HIV/SIDA de discriminación de trabajo y casa.

  6. La homosexualidad masculina es vulgar y obscena.

  7. Creo que los hombres no deberían tener relaciones sexuales antes de casarse.

  8. Resultados de la prueba de sangre para el VIH deben ser confidenciales para prevenir discriminación en contra de personas con resultados positivos.

  9. Siento que deberían dedicar más tiempo a la enseñanza sobre el VIH/SIDA en mis clases de universidad.

  10. La comunidad homosexual no debe ser culpada por la transmisión del VIH/SIDA en los Estados Unidos.

  11. El SIDA es un castigo por comportamiento inmoral.

  12. Creo haber reducido todos los riesgos que me exponen al VIH/SIDA.

  13. No me importaría ir a clases con una persona con VIH/SIDA.

  14. Cualquier persona que haya tenido más de un compañero sexual es promiscuo.

  15. Podría hablar abiertamente del VIH/SIDA con un amigo.

  16. Yo no me alejaría de un amigo si él/ella tuviera VIH/SIDA.

  17. Si yo descubriera que mi compañero de apartamento tuviera el VIH/SIDA, yo me mudaría a otro lugar.

  18. Yo no estoy de acuerdo con en el uso de condones.

  19. Yo no podría hablar el tema del VIH/SIDA con mis padres.

  20. Yo saldría con una persona que tuviera VIH/SIDA.

  21. Me sentiría cómodo hablando del tema del VIH/SIDA en clase.

  22. Me abstendría de relaciones sexuales antes del matrimonio.

  23. Me sentiría cómodo al preguntar a mi compañero acerca de su vida sexual pasada.

  24. Usaría el VIH/SIDA como excusa para no tener relaciones sexuales.

  25. Me limitaría a un solo compañero en mi relación sexual.

  26. Siempre que tenga sexo usare un condón.

Address correspondence to Raffy R. Luquis, School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, W331 Olmsted, Penn State Harrisburg, 777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown PA 17057; e-mail: [email protected]

References

Dawson, D. A. (1990). AIDS knowledge and attitudes for July–September. Provisional data from the National Health Interview Survey. (Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics No. 183.) Hyattsville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics.

Luquis, R. (1991). Knowledge of and attitudes about HIV/AIDS among Hispanic college students at the Pennsylvania State University. Unpublished master’s thesis, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Preston, D. B., Young, E. W., Koch, P. B., & Forti, E. M. (1995). The Nurses’ Attitudes about AIDS Scale (NAAS): Development and psychometric analysis. AIDS Education and Prevention, 7, 443–454.

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Related terms:

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  2. Nurses’ Attitudes About HIV/AIDS Scale—Version 2
  3. HIV Treatment Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale (HIV-ASES)
  4. HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Beliefs Scales for Adolescents
  5. The Meharry Questionnaire: The Measurement of Attitudes Toward AIDS-Related Issues
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