Survey shows awareness
Nebraska youth realize seriousness of AIDS
SSSSOr-_0
By Laura Smith
Staff Reporter
Results of a survey about Ne
braska adolescents' knowledge of
AIDS show that kids know a lot about
the disease, said Ian Newman, a Uni
versity of Ncbraska-Lincoln profes
sor of health education.
The results were announced at an
AIDS symposium at UNL June 22.
‘Kids are quite
knowledgeable
about the trans
mission of AIDS...’
--Newman
“Kids are quite knowledgeable
about the transmission of AIDS, but
tend not to be involved in taking
precautions,” Newman said.
The survey was given to Nebraska
youth in the eighth and tenth grades in
spring 1988. Newman said the results
^ will be published later this year.
Newman told an audience of 35
that several years ago the Center for
Disease Control in Atlanta started
conducting national surveys on ado
Icsccnts" knowledge of and attitudes
toward health-related issues includ
ing nutrition, safety, violence, sui
cide and sexually transmitted dis
eases.
Originally, AIDS was not in
cluded in the survey.
He said he decided to take the
national questions and look at them at
the slate level.
Newman said he thinks the Ne
braska survey will correlate with the
national findings.
“Nebraska is probably no differ
ent than the rest of the country,” he
said.
The results show that most of the
teens know an AIDS victim can
spread the disease. Most also said
they knew abstaining from sex and
using condoms can reduce the risk of
contracting AIDS.
Other results showed that more
girls than boys knew that a pregnant
woman can spread AIDS to her baby
and that very few of the students
know where to get tested for the
AIDS virus.
More than half of the students said
they would go to school with some
one with AIDS.
Newman said the survey also
asked students if they thought at least
half of their peers were having sexual
intercourse. Eighty-two percent of
male tenth graders said yes.
Of the 47 percent of students who
say they have had sexual intercourse,
less than 20 percent say they talked
with their partner about AIDS before
engaging in sexual intercourse.
Seven percent of the students said
the stopped having sex because of the
threat of AIDS.
Three percent said they have
shared needles to take drugs.
“This is a small but alarming
number,” Newman said.
Newman said 1700 students an
swered the survey.
rscwman saiu me resuus snow
very little difference between an
swers given by rural students and
answers given by urban students.
Some people are concerned that
students don’t give valid answers,
Newman said. But, he said, validity
has been tested and “ in the main, kids
tell the truth.”
“Kids know the facts, but aren’t
acting on them,” Newman said.
Newman’s presentation was one
of seven speeches about AIDS at the
symposium ‘‘AIDS Education in
Nebraska: Opening the Lines of
Communication.” It was sponsored
by the Department of Educational
Administration and the School of
Health, Physical Education and Rec
reation.
Resignations and appointments
Hartung resigns
From staff reports
T.E. Hartung has resigned as Dean
of the Agriculture College and will be
taking a full-time position as Associ
ate Vice Chancellor of the Institute of
Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Hartung came to the University of
Nebraska in 1974 from Colorado
State University where he worked
with the research and extension pro
grams.
He was selected for the position of
Associate Vice Chancellor on July 1,
1988 and has been serving as Interim
Dean for the College of Agriculture.
Donald Edwards will replace Har
tung as dean. He is scheduled to take
over Saturday.
Edwards was Chairman of the
Agriculture Engineering Department
at Michigan State.
He also was part of the UNL staff
from 1966 to 1980.
Regents appoint
geography chair
From staff reports
Jeanne Kay has been appointed as
chairperson of the Department of
Geography at the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln.
Kay has been an associate profes
sor of geography at the University of
Utah since 1984. She will be a full
professor at UNL.
Kay is co-editor of “The Profes
sional Geographer” and “The Envi
ronmental Effects of the North
American Fur Trade.”
Kay replaces Kenneth Dewey,
who has been serving as interim dean.
I
I
Eighth & tenth grades
were surveyed in the spring of 1988.
AIDS education should be
taught in school
AIDS infected person can 92%
infect someone else i
Abstaining from intercourse !
can reduce risk of AIDS
wearing condoms can ;
reduce risk
There is a cure for AIDS
I
only gay men get the _
disease 32% 0f ma|e -j oth graders say they have
had sexual intercourse
say 1/2 of peers use condoms -1
say 1/2 of their peers are injecting 00 /0
illeoal druas
say 1/2 of their peers are sharing
needles
nave injected drugs ( '
have shared needles
have had sex %
had sex in the last year
had sexw/ more than 1 partner
stopped sex because of threat
started using condoms
reduced # of sex partners
use condoms during sex _I_^
Source: Dept, of Ed. Admin. & School of Health, Phys. Ed. and Recreation.
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