Perceptions of vulnerability to AIDS among African American men: Considerations for primary preventive counseling for undergraduates

The purpose of this paper is to suggest some factors counselors should consider in dealing with perceptions of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among African American college-age males. For this study, perceived vulnerability to AIDS is a latent variable that refers to an individual's belief of their likelihood of contracting HIV when not using a condom. The objective of the study is to contribute to the knowledge needed by counselors, school educators, and health professionals to develop and implement effective educational programs and counseling interventions that are race and gender specific. In particular, programs that promote the use of AIDS risk-reduction practices among African American male, college-age adolescents. We acknowledge that any potent effort to prevent the spread of the disease among men in the African American community must: a) evaluate existing prevention strategies used with a similar population, b) utilize activities that focus on collective cultural experience, c) utilize activities that enhance communication and accent collective participation, d) utilize strategies that focus on acceptance of sexuality, e) focus on re-occurring patterns of communication, f) base intervention on the current social and political climate, g) consider threats and belief of genocide as real, h) include messages which consistently emphasize the potential benefits and gains of community and i) consider racial/ethnic composition in the counselor-client relationship.