final program.qxd - Parallels Plesk Panel

OP 6.1
Social Representations of HIV/AIDS in Central and Eastern Europe
Robin Goodwin, London
Objectives: HIV/AIDS is increasing at an alarming rate in the countries of the Former
Soviet Union (FSU), with the majority of this increase amongst adolescents and young
people. This project had four objectives. 1) To explore lay representations of HIV/AIDS
amongst 13-17 years old school children and similar aged children attending homeless
shelters in three countries of the FSU (Russia, Georgia, Ukraine). 2) To investigate
high-risk behaviours amongst this population in these countries (unsafe sexual
behaviours, illicit drug use). 3) To explore the relationship between individual values, lay
representations of the epidemic and these high-risk behaviours. 4). To examine wide
societal perceptions of the epidemic through an analysis of the media read/ viewed by
these adolescents, and through intensive focus groups held with representative groups of
adolescents.
ABSTRACTS
Methods. A structured interview and questionnaire knowledge, representations of
HIV/AIDS sexual behaviour and hedonistic values amongst 1531 14-17 year old school
children and similar aged shelter children in Russia, Georgia and Ukraine (N > 500 per
country). Detailed media analysis of the most read newspapers and watched TV and radio
programmes in each country. 32 single-sex focus groups held at 3 times periods
(3 monthly intervals) in the three countries, plus control groups to assess impact of focus
groups on lay representations of the epidemic and reported sexual behaviour and drug
use.
Results Shelter children are more sexually active, less knowledgeable means of HIV
transmission, and more likely to hold stereotyped representations of those most at risk,
but findings are partly moderated by culture and individual values, with Georgian
school-children more likely to have had early sexual experience than street children
(logistic regression (culture x group) Wald = 54.03, p< .001). Georgians are the least
knowledgeable about HIV, and most likely to hold misleading representations, although
Russians the most likely to have multiple partnerships and to take illicit drugs (F = 5.28,
p< .001). Hedonistic and fatalistic values a significant predictor of multiple sexual
partnerships and illicit drug use and mediate cultural differences in these behaviours.
Russian media focused primarily on overseas personalities, whilst Georgian coverage of
HIV/AIDS the least detailed. Ukrainian coverage the most in-depth and concerned with the
problem in that country. Participants in focus groups demonstrated significantly greater
knowledge of epidemic (F (1, 164) = 7.26, p< .01), and to have reduced some
misrepresentations of epidemic, in comparison with control group. Shelter children in the
focus groups reduced partnerships over six months compared to the control group, but no
clear effect for school children.
Conclusions. This is the first, large-scale study of HIV/AIDS amongst young people in this
region. The results indicate the significance of individual psychological, group and cultural
effects on sexual behaviour and drug use, and suggest the potentially important role of the
media in helping perpetuate or challenge persisting societal myths about the epidemic.
“ Focusing FIRST on PEOPLE “ 51 w w w . i s h e i d . c o m