What African-American Women Know, Do, and Feel About AIDS: A Function of Age and Education

Because African-American women tend to be studied as a homogeneous group, little data exist that report differences in what they know, feel, and do about AIDS. The purpose of this study was to compare African-American women across two age groups and four educational groups to discern if differences exist. African-American women who were 20 years of age or over were recruited in a variety of settings to obtain a heterogeneous sample. The sample totaled 281 women. Participation consisted of the completion of the AIDS Knowledge, Feelings, and Behavior Questionnaire. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that educational level influenced their knowledge and attitudes about AIDS, whereas age influenced not knowledge but attitudes and sexual behavior. Based on race alone, African-American women should not be treated as homogeneous in what they know, do, and feel about AIDS.