The AIDS epidemic continues to grow in this country and around the world. Currently, the only hope of stopping this tragedy is through interventions that change individual behavior. This book provides an excellent overview of current knowledge and research on how to promote the behaviors of safer sex and safer drug use, which will slow down the spread of HIV. It will be a useful resource for researchers who examine HIV prevention and for community workers and clinicians who wish to use sound, well-tested techniques for their intervention work. In addition, the book can serve as a thorough introduction for students who are new to the area of behavioral research on HIV and AIDS. --from the Overview by Suzanne C. Thompson & Stuart Oskamp Bringing together some of the most active and respected researchers in the field, this volume presents a state-of-the-art, integrated examination of behavioral research aimed at reducing the transmission of HIV. In almost 20 years of battling the AIDS epidemic, one theme has consistently emerged: The solution to stopping the spread of the AIDS virus rests with individual behavior. Understanding and Preventing HIV Risk Behavior grapples with the critical question of how to influence people to change high-risk behaviors, particularly in sexual activity and drug use. The contributors take an in-depth look at the most current HIV and AIDS epidemiological findings; the information-motivation-behavioral skills model of risk behavior; and empirical analyses of contraceptive decision making, denial processes, and the role of attraction in heterosexual behavior. This timely volume also examines research with special populations, including African American youths, Latinos, both gay and straight residents of HIV-impacted communities, active drug users, and adolescents in countries that have different AIDS risk levels and public health policies. Representing the latest in research on safer sex and altering drug use behaviors, Understanding and Preventing HIV Risk Behavior will be a valuable resource for HIV-prevention researchers, community workers, and clinicians who want to utilize research findings in their HIV intervention programs. This volume will also benefit students seeking an up-to-date overview of research on HIV/AIDS risk behavior.
Stuart Oskamp (Ph.D., Stanford University) has focused his research interests in the areas of attitudes and attitude change, applied social psychology, behavioral aspects of energy and resource conservation, and social issues and public policy. His books include
Attitudes and Opinions and
Applied Social Psychology. He has been elected a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Council of Representatives and President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) and of the APA Division of Population and Environmental Psychology. He has also served as editor of the
Journal of Social Issues and of the Applied Social Psychology Annual. Since 1984 he has organized the Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology and co-edited the resulting annual volume published for many years by Sage Publications and now published by Erlbaum.
