How adolescents compare AIDS with other diseases: implications for prevention

Four hundred ten adolescents, ages 14-16 years, completed a questionnaire concerned with their understanding of the social and emotional consequences of AIDS and 5 other illnesses (lung cancer, German measles, chicken pox, asthma, and diabetes). Pupils distinguished between the diseases on all measured items, but younger pupils were more likely to believe that individuals were personally responsible for the onset of AIDS, lung cancer, and diabetes. The data are discussed in terms of the implications for health education campaigns.