Grant Details
Description
If AIDS education programs are to be optimally effective, they must be
based on developmental research concerning what children and adolescents of
different ages currently know and are capable of learning about AIDS, how
they feel about it, and how cognitive and social-environmental factors
contribute to their emerging understandings and attitudes. The descriptive
surveys conducted to date generally have not tested developmental
hypotheses, employed psychometrically sound scales, or attempted to
identify influences on knowledge and attitudes. The current project is
designed to test competing hypotheses about the development of AIDS
understandings and attitudes derived from cognitive-developmental theory
and a knowledge-base perspective on development emphasizing the importance
of socialization experiences. Phase 1 will involve developing and
administering psychometrically sound and developmentally appropriate
measures of understandings of AIDS causality, symptomatology, and
prevention and attitudes concerning AIDS. A cross-sectional developmental
study of Hispanic and Anglo students in grades 2 to 12 wi11 be conducted,
and the open-ended and structured interviews used in this study will also
be administered to a special sample of children of low-income parents who
have received treatment for drug use. Emphasis wi11 be placed on
identifing the underlying bases for common misconceptions, examining how
they change with age and affect attitudes, and exploring sociocultural
variations in development. In Phase 2, a longitudinal, quasi-experimental
study involving low- and middle-income Hispanic and Anglo students in
grades 3, 6, and 9 will be conducted in order to: (1) evaluate the
effectiveness of an experimental AIDS curriculum designed to correct commom
misconceptions and teach principles of AIDS causality and prevention, and
(2) assess the relative contributions of cognitive maturity, socialized
knowledge, and sociocultural background to changes in AIDS understandings
and attitudes.
based on developmental research concerning what children and adolescents of
different ages currently know and are capable of learning about AIDS, how
they feel about it, and how cognitive and social-environmental factors
contribute to their emerging understandings and attitudes. The descriptive
surveys conducted to date generally have not tested developmental
hypotheses, employed psychometrically sound scales, or attempted to
identify influences on knowledge and attitudes. The current project is
designed to test competing hypotheses about the development of AIDS
understandings and attitudes derived from cognitive-developmental theory
and a knowledge-base perspective on development emphasizing the importance
of socialization experiences. Phase 1 will involve developing and
administering psychometrically sound and developmentally appropriate
measures of understandings of AIDS causality, symptomatology, and
prevention and attitudes concerning AIDS. A cross-sectional developmental
study of Hispanic and Anglo students in grades 2 to 12 wi11 be conducted,
and the open-ended and structured interviews used in this study will also
be administered to a special sample of children of low-income parents who
have received treatment for drug use. Emphasis wi11 be placed on
identifing the underlying bases for common misconceptions, examining how
they change with age and affect attitudes, and exploring sociocultural
variations in development. In Phase 2, a longitudinal, quasi-experimental
study involving low- and middle-income Hispanic and Anglo students in
grades 3, 6, and 9 will be conducted in order to: (1) evaluate the
effectiveness of an experimental AIDS curriculum designed to correct commom
misconceptions and teach principles of AIDS causality and prevention, and
(2) assess the relative contributions of cognitive maturity, socialized
knowledge, and sociocultural background to changes in AIDS understandings
and attitudes.
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 8/1/90 → 7/31/94 |
Funding
- National Institutes of Health: $167,572.00
ASJC
- Medicine(all)
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