Context and content: The impact of school-leaving and school-based health education on AIDS-relevant cognitions

TLDR

The study surveyed 690 16–18‑year‑olds in Dundee, categorizing them by whether they were still in school or had left, and by self‑reported receipt of AIDS/HIV‑relevant health education. Remaining in school and receiving AIDS/HIV education independently improved health beliefs and intentions, while leaving school interacted with sex and prior education, leading males who left early to rely less on mass media, narrowing gender differences in condom use intentions, and amplifying the positive impact of pre‑leaving education on perceptions of epidemic controllability and HIV‑related worry.

Abstract

Abstract A survey examined health beliefs and intentions among 690 16–18 year-olds in Dundee. Respondents in the younger cohort (n = 363) were classified according to their educational situation (at school vs left) and self-reports of having received AIDS/HIV-relevant health education. Both remaining in school and receiving AIDS/HIV-relevant health education had independent beneficial effects, but the effects of leaving school also interacted with sex of respondent and with amount of relevant education received prior to leaving. Males' and females' reliance on mass media and other information sources diverged once they left school, indicating that males who leave school early are most likely to disregard useful or important information regarding AIDS. Consistent with this finding, leaving school reduced the difference between males' and females' intention to use condoms with a new partner. The beneficial impact of having previously received AIDS/HIV-relevant education on beliefs concerning the controllability of the epidemic and on feeling worried about everyday contact with a person with HIV/AIDS, was most marked among those who had left school. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for health education strategies.