The AIDS Memorial Quilt as preventative education: a developmental analysis of the Quilt

This study consisted of a survey given to college students (N = 560) at a rural university in the Pacific Northwest. The sample was randomly assigned into four groups, following the Solomon four-group study design. The two levels of treatment included interventions consisting of a visit to the AIDS Memorial Quilt for the experimental groups and attendance at an unrelated event for the control groups. Pretests were completed 4 weeks prior to interventions; posttests were completed by the entire sample 4 weeks after the interventions. Results confirmed expected differences among the four groups in terms of social distance, perceptions of people with AIDS, self-efficacy, and discussion of risky behavior. The results suggest that the AIDS Memorial Quilt addresses issues centrally related to behavior change and indicates support for the message interpretation process and stages of change models.