The relationship of conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS to attitudes about condom use in African-American college students

Abstract

African-Americans are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. Previous research has shown that many African-Americans endorsed HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs. However, no previous research has investigated the relationship of these beliefs to attitudes about condom use among African-American college students. This study was designed to determine if there was a relationship between conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS to attitudes about condom use in African-American college students. A convenience sample of 93 African-American college students (aged 18 to 31; 68.8% female) from student based organizations at a Midwestern University participated in the study. A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used. A written self-report, 20-item questionnaire was completed by the participants (Bogart & Thorburn, 2005). From the analysis of the data it was determined that there was no statistical significant correlation between HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs and attitudes toward condom use in this population. Findings suggest that African-American college students are less likely to endorse HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs, thus making HIV prevention programs likely to be more effective with this population.