HIV Risk Predictors: Psychosocial (Lang, 1997)

• Populations: Adolescents, young adults
• Age ranges: 13-19
• Languages: English
• Countries: United States

Items

Subscales

• Environment, 26 Items, 4 subscales:
  
  • Peer Risk, 8 Items
  • AIDS Proximity, 8 Items
  • Media Resources, 5 Items
  • Media Influence, 5 Items
• Education had 3 sub factors:
  
  • School Education, 13 Items
    
    • School Education, 8 Items tables
    • School Influence, 5 Items
  • Home Education had 2 subfactors:
    
    • Parent Education and Influence, 2 Items
    • Sibling Education and Influence, 2 Items
  • Peer Education had 2 subfactors:
    
    • Peer Education, 1 Item
    • Peer Influence, 3 Items

Items by Subscale

Environment

• Peer Risk
  • Most of my friends have had sex.
  • One of my close friends does things that could lead to them getting AIDS.
  • My close friends insist on using condoms when they have sex with a risky partner . (R) 
  • My close friends think that their partner would not mind using a condom when they have sex. (R)
  • My close friends are afraid to ask their partner to use a condom when they have sex.
  • Some of my close friends think that they are at risk of getting AIDS.
  • My close friends think that it’s okay for a woman to ask a partner to use condoms. (R)
  • My close friends ask a sex partner to use a condom. (R)
• AIDS Proximity
  • If you know someone with HIV/AIDS , how old were you when you first knew this person with HIV/AIDS? (R)
  • A family member or close friend has HIV/AIDS.
  • I know someone with HIV/AIDS who is not a close friend or a member of my family.
  • I know a gay person who has HIV/AIDS.
  • I know a person who is not gay who has HIV/AIDS.
  • I know a woman who has HIV/AIDS.
  • I know a person who shoots drugs with a needle who has HIV/AIDS.
  • I know someone who was tested for AIDS. 
• Media Resources
  • For me, watching TV has been an important way to learn about HIV/AIDS.
  • For me, listening to the radio has been an important way to learn about HIV/AIDS.
  • For me, seeing movies in the theater , or on video has been an important way to learn about HIV/AIDS.
  • For me, reading books or magazines has been an important way to learn about HIV/AIDS.
  • For me, reading newspapers has been an important way to learn about HIV/AIDS.
• Media Influence
  • Knowing that “Magic Johnson ,” a famous basketball player, has HIV/AIDS has made me want to learn more about HIV/AIDS.
  • Knowing that a famous singer I really like has died of AIDS would make me want to learn more about how I can avoid getting it.
  • Knowing that a famous movie or TV star I really like has died of AIDS would make me want to learn more about how I can avoid getting it.
  • Knowing a famous movie or TV star I really like has HIV/AIDS would make me want to learn more about how I can avoid getting it.
  • Knowing a famous singer I really like has HIV/AIDS would make me want to learn more about how I can avoid getting it.

Education

• School Education
  • School Education
    • How old were you when you had your first class in school that talked about HIV/AIDS? (R)
    • I learned a lot about HIV/AIDS in classes I took in grade school.
    • I learned a lot about HIV/AIDS in classes I took in junior high school.
    • I learned a lot about HIV/AIDS in classes I took in high school.
    • Most of what I learned about HIV/AIDS in my classes was from listening to my teacher talk about it.
    • Most of what I learned about HIV/AIDS in my classes was from movies, books, and/or slides.
    • Most of what I learned about HIV/AIDS in my classes was from asking the teacher to answer my questions about it.
    • Most of what I learned about HIV/AIDS in my classes was from doing assignments or projects
  • School Influence
    • I learned a lot in my classes about the things people do that can cause them to get HIV/AIDS.
    • I learned a lot in my classes about what to do if I do not want to have sex.
    • Most of what I learned about how to practice safer sex was from my health or sex education classes.
    • I was taught how to keep myself from getting into a situation that would put me at risk for getting HIV/AIDS.
    • It would be easy for me to talk about sex with a teacher or school counselor.
• Home Education had 2 subfactors:
  
  • Parent Education and Influence
    • It would be easy for me to talk to my mother or father(or guardian) about sex.
    • Most of what I know about HIV/AIDS I learned from my mother or father (or guardian)
  • Sibling Education and Influence
    • It would be easy to talk about sex with my brother or sister (if you don’t have brothers or sisters, consider cousins, or other relatives).
    • Most of what I know about HIV/AIDS I learned from my brother(s) and/or sister(s).
• Peer Education had 2 subfactors:
  
  • Peer Education
    • It would be easy for me to talk about sex with my best friend(s) .
  • Peer Influence,
    • Most of what I know about HIV/AIDS I learned from my friends .
    • When my best friend(s) talk about HIV/AIDS, I believe that what they say is true.
    • Most of what I know about sex I learned from my friends.

Scoring

Peer Risk
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high peer risk

AIDS Proximity
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high AIDS proximity

Media Resources
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high use of media resources

Media Influence
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high media influence

School Education
Scale Range : 1-5; high score indicative of high education derived from school

School Influence
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high influence derived from school

Peer Education (single item)
Scale Range : 1-5; high score indicative of high education derived from peers

Peer Influence
Scale Range : 1-5; high score indicative of high influence derived from peers

Parent Education (single item)
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high education derived from parents

Parent Influence (single item)
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high influence derived from parents

Sibling Education (single item)
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high education derived from siblings

Sibling Influence (single item)
Scale Range: 1-5; high score indicative of high influence derived from siblings

Citations

Lang, Michelle A., “A Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Adolescent HIV-Risk Predictors” (1997).
Open Access Dissertations. Paper 984.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/984

Team comments

This measure was developed as part of a set of 4 scales by Lang (1997).  Further, the author cautions interpretation on this scale due to low number of items.

Internal consistency for the Environment-Peer Risk, Home education, the Peer education-Peer education subscales did not reach our threshold for Adequacy.

HIV Risk Predictors Scales:

• Cognitive
• Attitudinal
• Behavioral
• Psychosocial