Quasi-experimental evaluation of three AIDS prevention activities for maintaining knowledge, improving attitudes, and changing risk behaviors of high school seniors.

Twelfth graders in a small southern city participated in one of three interventions: a question and answer (QA) session, a presentation by a person with AIDS (PWA), or a role-play activity (RP). A pre-intervention questionnaire assessed AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes. Immediate post-intervention questionnaires assessed knowledge and the intervention itself, and, five weeks later, a questionnaire reassessed knowledge and attitudes in addition to changes in risk behaviors. Knowledge gains were similar in the three groups; forgetting was greatest among PWA students. The attitudes of the RP group toward persons with AIDS tended to be the most positive, but differences among the groups were not statistically significant. The pro- portion of RP students (65.9% ) who reported changing their sexual activities after the intervention was significantly greater than that proportion of the other groups. These findings suggest that role-play activities can be more effective in achieving HIV/AIDS-related attitudinal and behavioral change than question-and-answer discussions or presentations by PWAs.