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 amo ng African American college-age males. For this study, perceived vulne rability to AIDS is a latent variable that refers to an individual's b elief 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 promo te the use of AIDS risk-reduction practices among African American mal e, college-age adolescents. We acknowledge that any potent effort to p revent the spread of the disease among men in the African American com munity must: a) evaluate existing prevention strategies used with a si milar population, b) utilize activities that focus on collective cultu ral experience, c) utilize activities that enhance communication and a ccent collective participation, d) utilize strategies that focus on ac ceptance of sexuality, e) focus on re-occurring patterns of communicat ion, f) base intervention on the current social and political climate, g) consider threats and belief of genocide as real, h) include messag es which consistently emphasize the potential benefits and gains of co mmunity and i) consider racial/ethnic composition in the counselor-cli ent relationship.