Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

Peptide-based Identification of Functional Motifs and their Binding Partners
Published on: June 30, 2013
Should associations between HIV-related risk perceptions and behaviors or intentions be positive or negative?
Hiyi Tsui1, Joseph T F Lau, Weina Xiang
1Centre for Health Behaviors Research, The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Abstract:
Risk perceptions are important in HIV research and interventions; mixed results were found between HIV-related perceptions and behaviors. We interviewed 377 sexually active injecting drug users in China, finding mixed associations between HIV-related risk perception assessed by two general measures and two previous risk behaviors (syringe sharing: p<.05; unprotected sex: p>.05) - partially supporting the 'reflective hypothesis' that reflection on previous behaviors increases risk perceptions. When we use specific measures for risk perceptions (HIV transmission via unprotected sex with specific types of sex partner and via syringe sharing) and use behavioral intention to adopt protective risk behaviors (condom use and avoid syringe sharing totally) as dependent variables, positive significant associations were observed - supporting the motivational hypothesis that risk perceptions motivate one to adopt protective behaviors. The direction and significance of the associations of concern depends on types of measures used. It has important implications on research design, data interpretation and services.
Related Concept Videos
Attitudes
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
Surveys
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia