College students and HIV testing: cognitive, emotional self-efficacy, motivational and communication factors

ABSTRACT

Most college students have never been tested for HIV, even though they regularly have unprotected sex and multiple sex partners. Theory-based research addressing factors influencing HIV testing among college students is limited. This study explored this topic via a conceptual framework that integrates the health belief model with emotion and communication factors. Data was collected with a sample of four focus group panels, including two male and two female groups (N = 52). Transcripts for the seven discussion questions were produced based on the audio recordings of group sessions. Two research assistants reviewed, summarized and cross-validated the discussion content to address each of the four research questions under study. Students believe HIV to be a severe health threat, but feel ‘invincible’ about contracting the virus. Their low emotional self-efficacy is a barrier for adopting HIV testing. Gaining social approval and emotional support for making a testing decision can help them overcome the perceived fear, stigma and lack of response efficacy associated with taking the test. Students are open to receiving cues to action via confidential HIV-testing related communication from health professionals or important others as well as media messaging from various sources. Bridging the perceptual-emotional gap between perceived invulnerability and fear can help increase emotional self-efficacy in coping with HIV testing. Normalizing HIV testing as a primary care routine for harm avoidance/reduction will increase perceived benefits of testing. Communicating cues to action will help reinforce HIV testing as a societally approved and socially supported protective behavioral norm.

KEYWORDS:

• College students
• HIV testing
• health belief model
• emotional self-efficacy
• motivations
• HIV communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics approval

This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at University of Connecticut in Storr, CT.

Notes on contributors

Carolyn A. Lin (PhD) is affiliated with the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. Her research focus on the content, uses and effects of digital technologies, health and environmental risk communication, and digital marketing communication.

Deya Roy (PhD) is affiliated with the Department of Communication Studies at the Northeastern University. She is a researcher of interactions between patients and providers, health information seeking behavior and mass media effects of health behaviors.

Linda Dam (PhD) is affiliated with the Department of Communications at the California State University, Dominguez Hills. Her research agenda focuses on cross-cultural communication in the context of mass media effects.

Emil Coman (PhD) is affiliated with the UConn Health Disparities Institute at the University of Connecticut. His is an emotional communication researcher with expertise in health disparities and in modeling complex causal processes.