TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
Page - - - - - - - - i
Certification - - - - - - - - ii
Dedication - - - - - - - - iii
Acknowledgment - - - - - - - iv
Table
of Contents - - - - - - - v
List of Table - - - - - - - - viii
Abstract - - - - - - - - ix
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study - - - - - 1
Purpose of Study - - - - - - 6
Statement of the Problem - - - - - 7
Operational Definition of Terms - - - - 8
CHAPTER
TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Theories of Attitude Formation - - - - 8
Cognitive Theories of Attitude - - - - 11
Definition of Attitude - - - - - - 13
Empirical Review - - - - - - - 16
Summary of the Literature - - - - - 30
Hypotheses - - - - - - - - 31
CHAPTER
THREE: METHODOLOGY
Participants - - - - - - - - 32
Instruments - - - - - - - - 32
Interpretation - - - - - - - - 38
Procedure - - - - - - - - 38
Design and Statistics - - - - - - 39
CHAPTER
FOUR: RESULTS
Results - - - - - - - - - 41
Summary of the Findings - - - - - 44
CHAPTER
FIVE
Discussion - - - - - - - - 45
Implications of the Study - - - - - 48
Summary of the Study - - - - - - 50
Conclusion - - - - - - - - 50
Recommendation - - - - - - - 51
Limitation of the Study - - - - - - 52
References - - - - - - - - 54
Appendices - - - - - - - - 59
LIST OF TABLES
Table I: Summary table of mean on attitude of adolescents towards AIDS.
Table II: Summary table of two way ANOVA on attitude of adolescents towards
AIDS.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated Influence of Gender and
Locality on the Attitude of Adolescent Towards ADIS. 100 were Adolescent
randomly selected from urban and rural area for the study. The age range was
between 15-19 years with a mean age of 17years. Attitude towards AIDS scale
Comoluabi 1995 was used for data collection. 2´2 factorial design was used and a two way ANOVA was also adopted as a
statistical test, findings showed no significant gender difference. Male and
female share similar attitude towards AIDS. There was a significant localfect.
Those who live in the urban area were found to have more posture attitude than
those who live in rural area. There was significant interaction effect,
findings were discussed in relation to literature review and recommendation
were also made.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
The
ravages of the AIDS epidemic have made this disease the highest priority of our
health system. In the absence of a cure, or more effective prevention or
treatment, it was projected in 1993 (Chesney, 1993) that the world could expect
30 to 40 million new cases by 2000 (Mann, 1991). These projections are on tract
or are proving to be underestimated particularly in developing nations.
In
2000, the total number of people living with HIV was estimated at 34.3 million,
in the hardest hit regions in Southern Africa ,
between 15% and 30% of the adults population are believed to be HIV positive.
Furthermore, the United Nations estimated that at least 2 of every 5 girls and
boys, who are 15 years old today, in the countries in Southern
Africa , will die of AIDS (Schwartlanders, Garnelt, walkers, and
Anderson, 2000).
AIDS/HIV
is a disease which affects human immune system. AIDS has become the world’s
fourth leading cause of death and number one killer in Africa ,
where in 1998 it took 1.83 million lives (balter, 1999). AIDS as it name tells
us, is an immune disorder an acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused
by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which is spread by exchange of
bodily fluids, primarily semen and blood. AIDS/HIV kills slowly; it ironically
can be lethal to more people. When the HIV infections becomes manifest as AIDS,
some years after the initial infection, the person has difficulty fighting off
other diseases, such as pneumolystis, pneumonia, cancer, dementia, or a wasting
syndrome in which the body literally
withers away. Also after several months to several years with no
symptoms, patients may develop minor health problems such as weight loss,
fever, and night sweats, symptoms that make up the condition known as
AIDS-Related-Complex (ARC).
On
June 5, 1981, the centers for disease control reported the first case of
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In the decades that followed, AIDS
grew from an unknown disease into a devastating worldwide epidemic for which no
medical cure has been found. According to the world health organization (2002),
about 16,000 new infections occur each day. Worldwide, 1 in every 100 adults
between the ages of 15 and 49 are infected with the AIDS virus, and the disease
has so far claimed the lies of nearly 20 million people of the 3 million people
who died from AIDS in 2001, 37 percent were woman and 20 percent were children.
In some countries of Southern Africa , 25 to 40
percent of the population is infected, including a third of all pregnant women.
Globally, only 5 to 10 percent of the cases now occur in homosexual men (the
population typically identified with the Affliction), and women now make up
half of all HIV cases (United Nation, 2002). In the early 2000’s, the rate of
infection began to rise again among homosexual men in North America, Europe and
Australia
AIDS
is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which cripples the immune
system. The patient then becomes vulnerable to invading viruses, bacteria, and
tumors, which are the actual killers. Because the AIDS virus evolves rapidly,
vaccines are at the present ineffective in preventing its spread. Moreover, the
incubation period between initial infection and the appearance of the disease
may be as long as 10 years, meaning that an infected needles in intravenous
drug use; and exposure to infected blood through transfusion or in the womb.
In the
absence of a vaccine or cure, the only existing means of controlling the AIDS
epidemic is by changing the high-risk behaviours that transmits the virus. In
this respect, AIDS is as much as psychological problem as a medical one.
Prevention programs are typically designed to
1. Educate people concerning the risks that attend
certain behaviours, such as unprotected sex
2. Motivate people to change their behaviour to people
living with the virus
3. Provide specific guidelines for changing the risky
behaviours and teach the skills needed for changes and
4. Give support and encouragement or the desire
changes (O’Leary 2001).
Even when something as urgent as AIDS prevention is
involve the research has shown that the success of prevention programs depends
on the extent to which the individual social system supports the desires
changes (Herd & Linden Baum, 1992).
On promising approach to attitude change which was
inspired by Albert Banduras social cognitive theory. It involves the use of
modeling procedures to change attitude and behaviour. In some of the poorest
and most hopeless parts of the word (Bandura, 2000). The strategy is to produce
highly engaging ‘entertainment-education” radio dramas to increase awareness
and counter-act false beliefs. In Tanzania
PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY
The
aims of this study are as follows:
To determine whether gender will significantly influence
attitude of adolescents towards AIDS.
To examine whether locality will significantly
determine attitude of adolescents towards AIDS.
STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEMS
Not
withstanding all the efforts by both government and non-governmental
organization against AIDS, the problem of the pandemic is still at increase. As
a psychologist, I became worried on what could by the reason; on to this,
thought that the major reason for the continued spread of the virus maybe
attributed to the attitude of the public, especially adolescent towards this
virus. Adolescent were chosen as the target population because they are not
only the leader of tomorrow but thy engage more on illicit sex than adult who
are married. Therefore in looking at the problem of attitude towards AIDS, the
researcher decided to use gender and locality as reference. Therefore following
problems were addressed in this study.
Will gender significantly determine attitude of
adolescents towards AIDS? Will locality significantly determine attitude of
adolescents towards AIDS?
