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Knowledge Of Risk Behaviors Of Persons Seeking Hiv Antibody Testing At A Community Site, R.L. Sowell, B. Seals, Kenneth D. Phillips

Kenneth D. Phillips

People seeking HIV antibody testing at a community-based AIDS service organization (N = 342) were asked to complete a self- report questionnaire to determine knowledge of HIV transmission, source(s) of HIV-related knowledge, and recent risk behaviors. The overall knowledge level of risk for transmitting HIV associated with 16 related behaviors was relatively high. Yet, 69% of the participants reported engaging in unsafe sex during the previous six months. Poorly informed subjects tended to overestimate their level of knowledge. In a multiple regression analysis, knowledge, age, and gender were the only significant predictors of engaging in unsafe sex in this cohort. …