Harrison, et al. (2000) state that much research has been conducted in South African tertiary institutions on social conditions, economic factors and behaviour and how they relate to the HIV and Aids pandemic. However, ongoing research needs to be conducted as the South African social, economic and environmental context is a dynamic one. This study has focused on a sample of tertiary institution (Unizulu) undergraduates and focused on, students' perception of risk and perception of risk-taking behaviour, social perceptions with an emphasis on stigmatization and students’ attitudes towards voluntary counselling and HIV testing (VCT).
The HBM and PMT and other relevant literature was used as a foundation for the focus group interview schedule and the results of the focus group were used to prepare the survey questionnaire. The survey could therefore be contextualized to Unizulu students. The findings of the survey were analyzed and interpreted in terms of related theory. By
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interpreting the findings in terms of relevant theory, a better understanding of health behaviour (s) pertaining to the HIV/Aids pandemic in a tertiary institution was generated.
It appears that generally students have good knowledge of the pandemic and know what preventative behaviours are. However, in reality intention may not translate into actual behaviour. A worrying statistic was that many students perceive themselves as belonging to low or medium-risk groups in terms of being susceptible to being infected with HIV. This is more likely to relate to the othering of HIV and Aids than lack of knowledge about high risk groups. However, more research needs to be undertaken to be sure of this inference.
Kalichman (2000) suggest that moderate levels of fear result in the most responsible behaviour. Regarding protective behaviour, the majority of respondents agreed with the statement that they would be able to suggest to their partner to go for an HIV/Aids test at the beginning of a relationship. This indicates that the majority of respondents feel that they are able to take this preventative behaviour. However, it is unclear if intention relates to behaviour. The inference is that it does not as the level of HIV infection and Aids deaths in the region continues to rise.
It was revealed that male participants take part in more risky behaviour than females yet they are less likely to go for VCT. Participants generally perceived condoms as being a fairly effective protective device in preventing infection with HIV/Aids. However, some of the respondents did not view condoms as being completely effective. If sexually active it is likely that they would see themselves as being susceptible to HIV/Aids. A portion of respondents answered in the negative about the likelihood of a condom preventing HIV
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infection. This indicates the need for a sharper focus on the preventative ability of condoms in HIV prevention programmes. It is possible that some students distrust condoms as a form of complete prevention and may be misinformed about their preventative ability. It should be noted that there are a portion of the respondents who believe that they belong to the high risk group, yet they do believe that using a condom can prevent HIV infection. This suggests that some respondents may believe in the preventative ability of condoms, but are not using them. It is possible that cognitive dissonance results in a discrepancy between participants' attitudes and behaviour (Sarafino, 2002). However, the majority of students illustrated high self-efficacy by answering in the affirmative regarding being able to insist that a condom be used when engaging in sexual activity. It is unclear though whether they answer in the affirmative because they perceive the answer to be the correct one and then do not actual “do” the behaviour. It does seem likely that students are saturated with information and, although they say one thing, it is likely they do (or indulge in risky behaviours) another. This would explain the ever higher rate of incidence of infection in the area and amongst individuals of the age demographic of the respondents.
This study reveals that not all respondents are highly motivated to protect themselves from contracting of HIV. This was measured by ascertaining whether participants would have sex with a person that they did not know very well. Males were far more likely to have sex with someone they did not know well than females. This finding could be due to the fact that patriarchy still exists or that saturation levels have been reached in terms of HIV/Aids education. This may result in men ignoring the information given to them. The findings indicate
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that the HIV epidemic among undergraduate students continues, in part because, although in theory, students show high intention levels, in practice they do not participate in low risk behaviour.
Overall the findings seem to indicate that students have knowledge but this does not always translate into actual behaviours. This is likely to result in cognitive dissonance where there is a discrepancy between what respondents believe and how they act. Cognitive dissonance also has an influence on the othering of HIV and Aids and high levels of fear. It is also noteworthy that forty of the respondents reported to being homosexual. These students may choose to fill in survey’s which helps them, essentially, have a voice. It is likely that these students face more stigmatization and also suffer from cognitive dissonance as being “gay” in a patriarchal culture has many challenges. These inferences are underpinned by the study results. It is also likely that as the institution is the workplace of students such results can be found amongst individuals who are below the age of thirty five in the workplace. The results point towards the continuance and further spread of the pandemic as an important proportion of the sample respondents indulge in high risk behaviours and have negative attitudes towards VCT.