Understanding of AIDS by Elementary School Children: A Developmental Survey

Abstract:
The developmental process by which young children acquire an understanding of the concepts of causality, treatment, and prevention of illness as related to AIDS is poorly understood. Previous studies have focused on adolescent populations and have measured the facts that children seem to know rather than their understanding of relevant concepts. Such approaches are likely to overestimate the child's true level of understanding and obscure significant misconceptions. The aims of this project are to measure directly the level of understanding of the concepts of causality, treatment, and prevention of AIDS in healthy elementary school children and to assess the sociodemographic variables associated with their conceptual understanding.

Author(s): SCHONFELD, David J., M.D.; JOHNSON, Susan R., M.D.; PERRIN, Ellen C., M.D.; O'HARE, Linda L.; and CICCHETTI, Domenic V., Ph.D.

Publication: Pediatrics


Date Published: 9/1/1993

Pages: 7

Location Code: 8072