Communicating the AIDS risk to college students: the problem of motivating change

Many health experts view college students as a possible high risk group for AIDS. There is little disagreement that college students should be targeted for AIDS education campaigns; however, speculation about the best strategies for educational efforts has been based on limited information. The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize the findings from four empirical studies conducted at universities in the USA. The collective results revealed that the majority of students are reasonably knowledgeable about the transmission of the AIDS virus and proper preventive measures. Unfortunately, only a minority are translating their knowledge into behavioral change. The authors provide three possible interpretations for this lack of behavioral change: (i) college students may lack the necessary technical and/or communication skills to practice safe sex; (ii) the homosexual stigma associated with AIDS inhibits the discussion and practice of safe sex; and (iii) students separate themselves from the problem by not personalizing the risk. General and specific communication strategies for the dissem-mination of AIDS information are offered based on these conclusions.