Objectives Parent-adolescent communication about sexuality has been shown to influence adolescents' sexual behaviour. This study aims to describe communication about sex between Mexican parents and adolescents, and its relation to age at first intercourse and condom use.Methods Cross-sectional study with self-administered questionnaires of first year students at 23 high schools. Communication was divided into three themes: biological aspects, risks associated with sexual behaviour, and prevention. For sexually active adolescents, discussion timing was determined to have occurred prior to, or after sexual initiation. Analysis included logistic regression models stratifying by discussion timing.Results Overall 5,461 questionnaires were analysed. Among male respondents 24.3% and among females 10.6% stated that they were sexually active. As many as 83.1% reported having spoken with parents about sexual relations. Communication was more common with mothers. Discussions about risk and prevention prior to sexual...

Parent-adolescent communication about sex in Morelos, Mexico: does it impact sexual behaviour?

Relationships among sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes, and safe sex behaviour among adolescents: A structural equation model

The present study analysed data from 501 Yemeni university students to examine their knowledge about HIV and their attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS. The findings indicate that participants had several serious misunderstandings about HIV/AIDS and held negative attitudes toward people living with HIV/ AIDS. Although female students were less knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than were male students, they held more positive attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS. An overwhelming number of students expressed their willingness to get tested for HIV and recognized that AIDS is a serious issue facing their country. The study provides suggestions for HIV prevention efforts and ideas for future studies in Yemen.

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HIV-related knowledge and AIDS stigma among college students in Yemen.

AIDS stigma is a challenge to controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic especially in more conservative cultures. This study explored the impact of knowledge about HIV and AIDS, and the impact of shame, on the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Arab world. Survey data were collected from 277 female college students in 3 Arab countries: Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. Only in Bahrain was knowledge about HIV and AIDS inversely related to negative attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS. AIDS-related shame, however, was a strong predictor of AIDS stigma in all 3 countries. HIV education is needed for young people in Arab countries, especially women, both for their own health and to reduce the problem of AIDS stigma.

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Role of shame in the stigmatization of people with human immunodeficiency virus: a survey of female college students in 3 Arab countries.

Introduction: HIV/AIDS is one of the major health problems worldwide. Despite the low prevalence of HIV in Bahrain, educational and awareness programs remain highly important in controlling and preventing the spread of the disease. This study aimed to assess the public’s knowledge, risk perceptions, and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS in Bahrain. Methodology: A self-administered questionnaire-based survey was administered to and completed by 1,038 Bahraini adults. Results: Although the average general awareness among participants was good (63%), some misconceptions and erroneous beliefs were common, including knowledge of mode of transmission and high risk groups. Participants’ attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients varied but were mostly negative; 60% of respondents agreed to isolating HIV/AIDS patients in workplaces and schools, and 52.4% of them thought that HIV is a divine punishment. The vast majority of the participants (84.4%) believed in the role of religion in limiting the spread of the disease. Though the local media was the least utilized source of information, the general opinion of the participants about the role of Bahraini government agencies and organizations in combating HIV/AIDS was positive. Conclusions: Though the Bahraini public had good knowledge about HIV/AIDS, there were misconceptions that need to be addressed. A major finding of this study was the negative attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients. To have successful HIV control programs, negative attitudes towards HIV patients and the disease should be minimized. Existing and newly proposed health education and awareness program in Bahrain should address the issue of negative attitudes towards HIV/AIDS observed in this study.

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Onofre Dj

Papers

Time to intervene: preventing the spread of HIV / AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa.