HIV Prevention among Asian-American College Students: Does the Health Belief Model Work?

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Abstract
This study examined the predictive utility of the health belief model (HBM) in relation to prevention of HIV infection among Asian-American college students. Four research hypotheses were proposed. Three of these hypotheses proposed a positive relationship between perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits, and HIV-preventive behavior. The fourth research hypothesis postulated a negative relationship between perceived barriers to prevention and actual HIV-preventive behaviors. Results indicated that severity and barriers are significant predictors of the adoption of HIV-preventive behaviors among Asian-American students. Severity was a significant predictor of becoming more careful about the selection of intimate partners, reducing the number of sexual partners, and generally positive changes toward safer sexual behavior, whereas barrier was a significant predictor of becoming more careful about the selection of intimate partners, reducing the number of sexual partners, and ensuring that sexual partners are not HIV infected. It also appeared that cultural factors, such as beliefs about HIV, illness, prevention, sexuality, and homosexuality, need to be incorporated into tests of the model to enhance its predictive power. Implications of the results and suggestions for further research are discussed.