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PURPOSE: In the context of a community development project related to adolescent sexual health, this study was carried out at Amherst Regional High School (ARHS) in Amherst, Nova Scotia, to assess students' sexual health knowledge, gender differences in knowledge, and associations between knowledge and sexual behaviours. METHODS: A 29-item scale assessed knowledge in five areas of sexual health. Gender differences in correct responses to questions were compared. Overall knowledge scores were compared by gender, grade, and sexual activity, and tested for association with sexual behaviours. RESULTS: Of 796 students, 80% participated. Sexual health knowledge scores were highest for sexually active females. Higher score was associated with oral contraceptive use and later sexual debut. Knowledge was highest for HIV/AIDS. Students were insufficiently aware of their right to patient confidentiality. CONCLUSIONS: ARHS students lack knowledge in some sexual health areas. School programs should consider these findings, and work to improve school-based sexual health education.

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The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used to study parents' involvement in six at-home sexuality education activities for nine grade students. These activities are part of Skills for Healthy Relationships: A Program About Sexuality, AIDS, and Other STD (SHR). Some 216 parents, 62% of the population, completed and returned a self-administered questionnaire. Perceived barriers correlated most strongly with lack of parents' involvement in SHR. Additionally, perceived barriers and perceived self-efficacy were the most significant factors differentiating parents involved in SHR at-home activities from those who were uninvolved. Compared with highly involved parents, noninvolved parents were: 1) less confident their children wanted to do the activities with them (F[4,204] = 19.58, p < .0005), 2) less sure of their children's desire to talk with them about sex-related issues (F[4,213] = 7.03, p < .0005), and 3) less certain their AIDS-related facts were current (F[4,213] = 2.39, p = .05). Parents highly involved in SHR reported becoming more comfortable talking with their adolescents about STDs (F[4,205] = 4.04, p = .004) and felt their children talked a little more openly with them about AIDS and STDs (F[4,205] = 2.54, p = .04). In contrast, uninvolved parents reported no changes relative to communicating with their children about sexuality. For these reasons, SHR's inclusion of at-home activities shows promise for increasing parent-adolescent communication about sexuality.

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Meeting a person with AIDS in the classroom was evaluated to determine if it had an impact on students' perceived susceptibility to HIV infection and attitudes toward persons with AIDS. The meeting was incorporated into the Grade 9 AIDS education program of a school district in Nova Scotia. Four schools participated in this study. Two schools were randomly assigned to the treatment group, which met the person with AIDS, and the remaining two schools formed the comparison group. Measures of the two attitudinal variables were collected using a self-report questionnaire that was administered both prior to and two weeks after the educational intervention. Meeting a person with AIDS in the classroom had no measurable impact on students perceived susceptibility to HIV infection nor on their attitudes toward persons with AIDS. Suggestions for using the educational intervention more effectively and for further research are made.

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The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of an educational program, Learning About AIDS, on Grade 6 students' knowledge of HIV/AIDS and attitudes towards persons living with AIDS(PLWAs). A pretest/post-test/follow-up comparison group design was utilized to evaluate this intervention. Findings indicated that Grade 6 students who received Learning About AIDS were significantly more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS at post-test and follow-up than were comparison group students. As well, the treatment group students' attitudes toward PLWAs were significantly more positive than those of the comparison group at both post-test and follow-up. It was concluded that Learning About AIDS was a beneficial and worthwhile program for these Grade 6 students.

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The identification of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in 1981, and the subsequent isolation of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1983, signaled the beginning of worldwide concern over the potential impact of the disease. As the global incidence of AIDS and HIV infection increased, Canadians expressed growing apprehension about the epidemic's affect on themselves. Because adolescents potentially are at risk for HIV infection, a special need existed to determine how Canadian youth were responding to the AIDS epidemic. During the summer of 1987, the Federal Centre for AIDS, in conjunction with the National Health Research and Development Program and the Canadian Public Health Association, commissioned a nationwide study. A national sample of more than 38,000 youth in grades 7, 9, 11, and the first year of college and university were surveyed about their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Also included in the total sample were youth who had recently dropped out of school and those who lived on the streets of large cities. In this article, the authors summarize findings from the study and offer conclusions and recommendations for action.

PIP: The Federal Center for AIDS, the National Health Research and Development Program, and the Canadian Public Health Association commissioned a study in 1987 on 38,000 adolescents 11-21 years old. The questions focused on knowledge of AIDS and attitudes and behavior about AIDS. The youth know how AIDS is transmitted but do not know how to practice prevention. Mass media has been the major purveyor of AIDS information, but are suspected of capitalizing on the situation to sell their products. Schools and physicians are regarded as reliable information sources, but these sources have not been providing the desired AIDS information on a regular basis. Education about AIDS is currently the most important preventative measure that can be implemented. Knowledge will help modify behavior only if people believe that everyone, including themselves, are at risk of contracting AIDS. Unfortunately, adolescents tend to believe in their own invincibility so they continue to be at risk for sexually transmitted infections. Surveys were conducted on adolescent attitudes toward homosexuals, AIDS infected people, and sexual intercourse in order to understand their associated behaviors. Only 14% of college students polled said they always used condoms. This type of attitude needs to be changed. Street youths are in a high risk AIDS category because they take more chances. Somehow these youths must be reached. Recommendations to improve the situation include: providing clear frank information about AIDS in Canada; educational programs for adolescents; education for parents about AIDS; counselling for college students through university health services; and an increase in AIDS survey research.

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