Different HIV risk profiles in samples of college students and homeless persons

A cross-sectional survey examined demographic characteristics, self-reported sexual behaviors, and knowledge of AIDS in samples of 106 homeless persons and 260 college students. As expected, the two samples differed with respect to age, gender, race, and education. Respondents in both samples possessed moderate knowledge of HIV infection and AIDS and reported they considered their personal risk of HIV infection low. Both samples acknowledged frequent use of alcohol with sexual activity, active and passive oral sex, and lax use of condoms. A discriminant analysis indicated that a greater percentage of college students were sexually active than of the homeless sample and that the homeless group had a higher proportion of individuals who were either homosexual or bisexual, who had sexual contact with multiple partners or who had visited a prostitute, who had sexually transmitted diseases, and who had injected drugs. Although the risk profiles differed, each group reported high-risk behaviors and perceptions of low personal risk of HIV infection.