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12 Revue sexologique / Sexological Review
phenomenon. We are proposing here sore theories and thoughts for
the debate on the repercussions of this pandemic on our sexual values
and practices.
The development of increasingly effective methods of contraception
has certainly contributed to liberalizing sexual mores. In fact, effective
contraception has reduced the fears of unwanted pregnancy. Oral
contraceptives constitute one of the most important discoveries of our
times, but the freedom it has provided has had a reverse effect in that
it dissuades people from using condoms, one of the me ans of
prevention against the transmission of HIV.
Before AIDS, people were worried about unwanted pregnancies;
today the problem is also how to eliminate the possibility of
contamination. The condom can then play a double role: that of a
contraceptive and that of a prophylactic whose efficiency has
theoretically not been confirmed. As demonstrated in the study
conducted by Perreault and his colleagues and published in this
review, we must now respond to the complex challenge of developing
new attitudes and practices in young people to main tain the gains
made in the reduction of unwanted pregnancies as we work on
preventing AIDS.
The adoption of safe sexual behaviors has become the new slogan of
AIDS prevention campaigns. In this context, we must understand the
process governing changes in sexual behaviors, using psychological
and sociological literatures. We can thus assume that the resistance to
modifications in sexual behaviors may be attributed to cognitive
processes such as those demonstrated by Maticka-Tyndale and Lévy in
their study on risk perception. Systematic errors in judgment thus
contribute to maintaining risk-producing sexual behaviors.
In addition to these various cognitive mechanisms, other
psychological and sociological predictors must be identified to build
multidimensional explanatory models of the adoption of risk­
producing sexual behaviors. This constitutes a sizeable challenge for
researchers since they must take into consideration the characteristics
of each "target group" aimed at by prevention intervention. The
studies carried out in Montreal by Catherine Hankins and her team,
and in Sydney, Australia, by Michael Ross's team with intravenous­
drug users show the necessity of adapting psychosocial models of
prevention to the real-life situations of this group of persons.
With the spread of seropositivity, several researchers have focused
on the repercussions of this diagnosis upon the sexual practices of
persons infected with HIV. Epidemiological studies have, in fact,