Did an AIDS peer education program change first-year college students' behaviors?

Students who have attended the AIDS peer education program (APEP) at Florida Atlantic University have consistently evaluated it in an overwhelmingly positive manner. This has inspired the university staff to move on to another issue of concern: Is attendance at such a peer education program associated with HIV-related changes in behavior? To answer this question, the authors surveyed a random sample of first-year students by mail at the beginning and end of the 1991/92 school year. In the interim, some students participated in an APEP and some did not--resulting in a before-after design. Those who attended an APEP reported they were more likely than nonattendees to engage in behaviors that were aimed at preventing HIV infection. The validity problems inherent in self-selecting attendance and in surveying by mail, especially in regard to causation versus association, lead us to attempt a face-to-face interview design in future evaluations. With stricter control over other potential intervening variables, we may be more likely to obtain data that relate change in behavior to the APEP.