Risk-Taking, Responsibility for Health, and Attitude toward Avoiding Aids
- 1 June 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Psychological Reports
- Vol. 64 (3_suppl) , 1255-1260
- https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1989.64.3c.1255
Abstract
A telephone survey was completed with 400 adults to explore a possible relation between health risk-taking and perceived personal responsibility for health. The attitude that AIDS could be avoided by being careful was weakly associated with responses to questions about wearing seat belts and smoking. The pattern held only among those who thought their health was good for people their age. After reviewing related literature, it appears that poor health status and dogmatism may contribute to denial of risk and to risky sexual behavior. Themes for public health educational campaigns are suggested.This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Self-Deception of the Self-DestructivePerceptual and Motor Skills, 1987
- Misperception Among Gay Men of the Risk for AIDS Associated with Their Sexual Behavior1Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1987
- Risk-Taking Behavior, Substance Abuse Disorders, and the Acquired Immune Deficiency SyndromeAdvances in Alcohol & Substance Abuse, 1987