Negative symptoms and HIV/AIDS risk-behavior knowledge in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia sufferers have been demonstrated to have relatively poor HIV/AIDS risk-behavior knowledge and, as a group, are found to be particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV. The authors asked whether an association could be demonstrated between specific symptoms and differing levels of knowledge. A structured clinical interview and HIV/AIDS Risk Questionnaires were administered to 102 subjects, and a principal-component analysis was performed for global and individual items, followed by comparisons between factors. Three factors (negative, positive, and global thought-disorder) emerged as significant between poor HIV/AIDS risk-behavior knowledge and higher negative-symptom scores. Findings support the notion that existing educational programs should be adapted to target specific areas of deficit.