Abstract
HIV-AIDS prevention research requires assessment administration formats that do not enhance response bias or risk sensitization. In the present study, reactivity of self-reported sexual history measures used in HIV prevention research was examined in a sample of 158 African American women. Sexual history assessments were administered in one of three formats: self-administration, administration assisted by overhead projections of measures explaining items while participants completed their own assessment instruments, or face-to-face interviews, with follow-up assessments completed 2 weeks later. Consistent with previous research, test-retest coefficients indicated moderate stability of the sexual behavior measures. We also found that participants who self-administered measures were less likely to return for the 2-week follow-up. Tests for measurement reactivity showed that self-administered questionnaires and face-to-face interviews primed sensitization to personal risk and intentions to change risk behaviors to a greater extent than did the projector-assisted assessments. We conclude that sexual behaviors can be assessed with moderate test-retest stability in inner-city women and some administration procedures may enhance preparedness to change HIV risk behaviors.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Analysis of Sexual Behaviour in France. (1992). A comparison between two modes of investigation: Telephone survey and face-to-face survey. AIDS, 6, 315-323.
Boekeloo, B., Schiavo, L., Rabin, D. L., Conlon, R. T., Jordan, C. S., and Mundt, D. J. (1994). Self-reports of HIV risk factors by patients at a sexually transmitted disease clinic: Audio vs written questionnaires. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 754-760.
Bradburn, N., and Sudman, S. (1979). Improving interview method and questionnaire design. San Francisco: Josses-Bass.
Carey, M. P., Carey, K. B., Weinhardt, L. S., and Gordon, C. M. (in press). Documented behavioral risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among seriously mentally ill outpatients. Community Mental Health Journal.
Catania, J. A., Gibson, D. R., Chitwood, D. D., and Coates, T. J. (1990). Methodological problems in AIDS behavioral research: Influences on measurement error and participation bias in studies of sexual behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 339-362.
DeLamater, J., and MacCorquodale, P. (1975). The effects of interview schedule variations on reported sexual behavior. Sociological Methods and Research, 4, 215-236.
Fishbein, M., Middlestadt, S. E., and Hitchcock, P. J. (1994). Using information to change sexually transmitted disease-related behaviors. In R. J. DiClemente and J. L. Peterson (Eds.), Preventing AIDS (pp. 61-78). New York: Plenum Press.
Goldsmith, M. (1988). Stockholm speakers on adolescents and AIDS: Catch them before they catch it. Journal of the American Medical Association, 260, 757.
Halpern, C. T., Udry, J. R., and Suchindran, C. (1994). Effects of repeated questionnaire administration in longitudinal studies of adolescent males' sexual behavior. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23, 41-57.
Hobfoll, S. E., Jackson, A. P., Lavin, J., Britton, P. J., and Shepherd, J. B. (1994). Reducing inner-city women's AIDS risk activities: A study of single, pregnant women. Health Psychology, 13, 397-403.
James, N. J., Bignell, C. J., and Gillies, P. A. (1991). The reliability of self-reported sexual behaviour. AIDS, 5, 333-336.
Kalichman, S. C., Hunter, T. L., and Kelly, J. A. (1992). Perceptions of AIDS susceptibility among minority and nonminority women at risk for HIV infection. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 725-732.
Kalichman, S. C., Kelly, J., Hunter, T., Murphy, D., and Tyler, R. (1993). Culturally tailored HIV/AIDS-risk reduction messages targeted to African-American urban women: Impact on risk sensitization and risk reduction. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 291-295.
Kalichman, S. C., Kelly, J. A., Johnson, J., and Bulto, M. (1994). Factors associated with risk for HIV infection among chronic mentally ill adults. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 221-227.
Kalichman, S. C., Sikkema, K. J., Kelly, J. A., and Bulto, M. (1995). Use of a brief behavioral skills intervention to prevent HIV infection among chronic mentally ill adults. Psychiatric Services, 46, 275-280.
Kalichman, S. C., Rompa, D., and Coley, B. (1996). Experimental component analysis of a behavioral HIV-AIDS prevention intervention for inner-city women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 687-693.
Kauth, M. R., St. Lawrence, J. S., and Kelly, J. A. (1991). Reliability of retrospective assessments of sexual HIV risk behavior: A comparison of biweekly, 3-month, and 12-month self reports. AIDS Education and Prevention, 3, 207-214.
Kelly, J. A., Murphy, D. A., Washington, C. D., Wilson, T. S., Koob, J. J., Davis, D. R., Ledezma, G., and Davantes, B. (1994). The effects of HIV/AIDS intervention groups for high-risk women in urban clinics. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 1918-1922.
Miller, W. R., Zweben, A., DiClemente, C., and Rychtarik, R. (1992). Motivational enhancement therapy manual (DHHS Publication No. ADM 92-1894). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Nebot, M., Celentano, D. D., Burwell, L., Davis, A., Davis, M., Polacsek, M., and Santelli, J. (1994). AIDS and behavioral risk factors in women in inner city Baltimore: A comparison of telephone and face to face surveys. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 48, 412-418.
Reading, A. E. (1983). A comparison of the accuracy and reactivity of methods of monitoring male sexual behavior. Journal of Behavioral Assessment, 5, 11-23.
Roffman, R. A., Picciano, J. F., Ryan, R., Beadnell, B., Fisher, D., Downey, L., and Kalichman, S. C. (in press). Prevention group counseling delivered by telephone: An efficacy trial with gay and bisexual men. AIDS and Behavior.
Siegel, K., Krauss, B. J., and Karus, D. (1994). Reporting recent sexual practices: Gay men's disclosure of HIV risk by questionnaire and interview. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23, 217-230.
Webb, G. R., Redman, S., Gibberd, R. W., and Sanson-Fisher, R. W. (1991). The reliability and stability of a quantity-frequency method and a diary method of measuring alcohol consumption. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 27, 223-231.
Winer, B. J. (1971). Statistical principles in experimental design. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kalichman, S.C., Kelly, J.A. & Stevenson, L.Y. Priming Effects of HIV Risk Assessments on Related Perceptions and Behavior: An Experimental Field Study. AIDS Behav 1, 3–8 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026205603217
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026205603217