An AIDS-risk assessment of students attending christian high schools in the united states of America: A practical application of the theory of planned behavior

During the school year of 1994-1995 students (n = 1611) attending Seventh-day Adventist high schools in the United States of America completed questionnaires designed to assess their HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and behaviors. AIDS-related behavioral intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control were also assessed according to the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1989). The rates of the sexual and drug-use behaviors measured in this population are lower than for students who attend public high schools. Increased risk for participating in sexual intercourse, the key AIDS-risk behavior in youth, was associated with the students’ substance use and also by their parents’ use of substances. Measurements designed in accord with the Theory of Planned Behavior revealed that students most relied on spiritual strength and encouragement from teachers to manage their control over premarital sexual intercourse.