Communication and level of AIDS knowledge among homeless African-American mothers and their children.
One hundred and thirty residents and their children from eight transitional living shelters in the midwest participated in a study designed to assess their level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, concerns about susceptibility to the virus, patterns of general communication, and level of comfort in discussing sexual and HIV/AIDS related matters within the family unit. Overall, parents and children demonstrated significant misinformation about HIV/AIDS and did not perceive themselves as being at risk for contracting the virus. Parents who possessed more formal education were more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS, sexuality, and reported greater levels of parent-child communication. Parents who possessed higher levels of self-esteem indicated that they discussed sexual topics with their children more than parents with lower levels of self-esteem and that when sexual matters were discussed the mother was the agent of communication.
Crawford
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Psychology Department, Loyola University, Chicago, IL 60626.
Thomas
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Zoller
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D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002641:Chicago; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006302:Health Services Research; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012649:Self Concept; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires