title: Conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS among HIV-positive African-American patients in rural Alabama.
abstract: This is apparently the first survey examining endorsement of HIV/ AIDS conspiracy beliefs and their relations to educational attainment among 205 HIV-positive African-American patients receiving care at an AIDS Outreach Organization in Alabama. 31% somewhat or strongly believed that, "AIDS is a form o genocide against African Americans," 29% strongly agreed that "AIDS was created by the government to control the black population," 56.1% agreed that the government is withholding a cure for AIDS, and 69.8% agreed that the government is withholding information about the disease from the public. 52% agreed that "HIV is a manmade virus," and 43.1% that "AIDS was produced in the governments laboratory." Respondents with high school or college education were less likely to endorse conspiracy liefs. Being open and sensitive to questions about conspiracy beliefs plus understanding the historical roots and social context from which such questions arise in African-American communities is needed to counter such beliefs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Sociology, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL 36088, USA. zekeri@Tuskegee.edu
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Zekeri
authors.forename: Tsegaye
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Habtemariam
authors.forename: Berhanu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tameru
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ngawa
authors.forename: Vinaida
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Robnett
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000407:Alabama / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003625:Data Collection; D004522:Educational Status; D035082:Federal Government; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D006266:Health Education; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D011287:Prejudice; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States