HIV/AIDS among adolescents in Eastern Europe: knowledge of HIV/AIDS, social representations of risk and sexual activity among school children and homeless adolescents in Russia, Georgia and the Ukraine

Abstract

The two studies reported here focus on knowledge and representations of HIV/AIDS (study 1) plus sexual behaviour and hedonistic values (study 2) among 14-17-year-old school children and similar aged shelter children. Results indicate that shelter children are more sexually active, less knowledgeable about means of HIV transmission and are more likely to hold stereotyped representations of those most at risk of infection. Russian respondents were the most sexually active, a finding which could at least be partly explained by their higher levels of hedonistic values. These findings are discussed in the context of a climate of continuing social change in this region.