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Children's Conceptions of AIDS: A Developmental Analysis
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1991
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EducationChild Mental HealthPsychologySocial SciencesDevelopmental PsychologyAids Education CurriculaCognitive DevelopmentPublic HealthHealth EducationSexual And Reproductive HealthChild PsychologyFormal Logical ThinkingDevelopmental AnalysisAids ProtocolHivAids PathogenesisChild DevelopmentEarly EducationSexual HealthPediatricsMedicineChild Protection
Examined causal reasoning about AIDS in children representing three major phases of cognitive development: prelogical, concrete logical, and formal logical thinking. 60 Ss (age groups: 5-7 years, 8-10 years, and 11-13 years) were administered the Concepts of AIDS Protocol. Responses were scored using the developmentally ordered Concepts of Illness Category System. The data confirm that, as a group, children's causal thinking about AIDS parallels the ways in which children think about illness in general. More specifically, the data could be organized in terms of 6 major categories or ways in which children conceptualize AIDS and its causes. The findings provide an initial empirical foundation for AIDS education curricula.