Communication and Level of AIDS Knowledge Among Homeless African-American Mothers and Their Children

Abstract

One hundred and thirty residents and their children from eight transitional living shelters in the midwest participated in a study designed to assess their level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, concerns about susceptibility to the virus, patterns of general communication, and level of comfort in discussing sexual and HIV/AIDS related matters within the family unit. Overall, parents and children demonstrated significant misinformation about HIV/AIDS and did not perceive themselves as being at risk for contracting the virus. Parents who possessed more formal education were more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS, sexuality, and reported greater levels of parent-child communication. Parents who possessed higher levels of self-esteem indicated that they discussed sexual topics with their children more than parents with lower levels of self-esteem and that when sexual matters were discussed the mother was the agent of communication.