From Vital and Health Statistics of the National Center for HealthStatistics Number 150 . March 9, 1988 

AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes for October 1987 

Provisional Data From the National Health Interview Survey 

Deborah A. Dawson, Ph. D., Marcie Cynamon, M.A.,


and Joseph E. Fitti, M.S.P.H., Division of Health Interview Statistics


Introduction 

The National Center for Health Statistics has introduced a special set of supplemental questions on the adult 

population’s knowledge and attitudes about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the National Health 

Interview Survey (NHIS). This report presents provisional 

findings for October, the third month of data collection 

with the AIDS questionnaire. Data for August and September 1987 have been published in Advance Data From Wtcd 

and Health Statistics Nos. 146 and 148. This report updates 

the earlier reports and for the first time describes educational differences in AIDS knowledge and attitudes, 

The Advance Data reports describing the NHIS AIDS 

data have been restricted to simple descriptive statistics in 

order to permit their timely release. Thus, these reports do 

not attempt to explain or interpret differences among population subgroups in AIDS knowledge or to examine relationships among various measures of knowledge, attitudes, 

and perceived risk. The AIDS data base will permit more 

complex analyses than those presented in this series of 

Advance Data reports, and such analyses currently are 

being undertaken by various groups in the Public Health 

Service, 

The AIDS questionnaire was designed to provide baseline estimates of public knowledge and attitudes about 

AIDS transmission and prevention of AIDS virus infection 

and to measure changesin knowledgeand attitudes over 

time, The data also were needed as input for the planning 

and development of AIDS educational campaigns and for 

evaluation of major educational efforts. 

The AIDS questionnaire was developed by the National Center for Health Statistics and interagency working 

groups established by the Information, Education and Risk 

Factor Reduction Subcommittee of the Public Health Service Executive Task Force on AIDS. The working groups 

included representatives from the Centers for Disease Control; the National Institutes of Health the Alcohol, Drug 

Abuse and Mental Health Administration; and the Health 

Resources and Services Administration. 

The questionnaire includes items on self-assessment of 

knowledge about AIDS; sources of information about 

AIDS; knowledge about AIDS and AIDS-related risk factors, modes of transmission, and blood tests for the AIDS 

virus; plans to take such a test; recent experience with 

blood donation; self-assessment of chances of getting 

AIDS; personal knowledge of people with AIDS or the 

AIDS virus; and finally, willingness of respondents to take 

part in a proposed national seroprevalence study. 

This report presents provisional data for October 1987 

for all AIDS questionnaire items. Table 1 displays percent 

distributions of persons 18 years of age and over by response categories according to age, sex, race, and education. In most cases, the actual question asked of the 

respondent is reproduced verbatim in table 1, along with 

the response categories. In a few cases, questions or response categories have been rephrased or combined. Refusals and other nonresponses are excluded from the 

denominator in the calculation of estimates, but responses 

of “don’t know” are included. 

Selected findings 

Changes in knowledge 

The most notable changes in knowledge between September and October 1987 were in the proportions of adults 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES � Public Health Service . Centers for Disease Control 
2 advancedata 

~August ms8ptf3mber =October 

Shaking hands with or touching someone who has AIDS 

Attending school with a child who has AIDS 

Kissing on the cheek a person who has AIDS 

Donating or giving blood 

Pets or animals 

Using public toilets 

o 20 40 60 80 100 

Percent 

SOURCE National Center for Health Statistics, Divisionof Health Inlervisw Stalistlcs, Natlonsl Health tntervlew SIYVey. 

Figure 1. Provisional �stlmatos of porcont of adults who think It Is very unlikely or dofinitaiynot possibloto got AIDS or tho AiDS virus 

infection from various conjectured modes of transmission:United Ststss, August.Octobsr, 1987 

who thought that it is very unlikely or definitely not possible 

to get AIDS or the AIDS virus through various modes of 

casual contact. As shown in figure 1, these changes represent the continuation of a trend that began with the August 

AIDS data. While all of these differences between September and October are statistically significant, some of the 

differences in proportions between August and September 

are not. 

In October, 68 percent of Americans 18 years of age 

and over realized that it is very unlikely or impossible to get 

AIDS by shaking hands with someone who has AIDS, 

compared to 63 percent in September and 61 percent in 

August. The proportion of adults thinking it very unlikely 

or impossible to get AIDS by attending school with a child 

who has AIDS increased from 58 percent in August to 60 

percent in September and 65 percent in October. 

There were also increases in the proportions of adults 

thinking it very unlikely or definitely not possible to get 

AIDS or the AIDS virus by kissing on the cheek a person 

with AIDS (60 percent in October compared to 56 percent 

in August and 55 percent in September), donating or giving 

blood (54 percent in August, 56 percent in September, and 

60 percent in October), and using public toilets (40, 43, and 

47 percent, respectively). Smaller but statistically significant 

changes were observed for a number of the other forms of 

casual contact as well. 

Following a number of statistically significant changes 

in the level of knowledge about other aspects of AIDS and 

the AIDS virus between the months of August and September 1987, there were few changes between September and 

October. In October, more than 90 percent of all adults 18 

years of age and over thought that it is definitely or 

probably true that AIDS leads to death, that there is no 

cure for AIDS at present, and that the AIDS virus can be 

transmitted via sexual intercourse, shared needles, and 

from a pregnant woman to her baby. Almost as many 

adults, 89 percent, realized that AIDS cripples the body’s 

natural protection against disease. Approximately threefourths of all adults thought that it is definitely or probably 

true that AIDS is caused by a virus and that a person can be 

infected with the virus without having the disease AIDS, 

The proportion of adults who thought it definitely false that 

an AIDS vaccine is available to the public increased slightly 

from 69 percent in September to 71 percent in October. 

Differences by education 

There are striking differences in AIDS knowledge 

according to level of education. Data from the National 

Health Interview Survey of AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes 

show that adults who have completed 12 or more years of 

school know more about virtually all aspeets of AIDS than 

do individuals with less than 12 years of school completed. 

For many items, there also is a statistically significant 

difference in knowledge between persons with 12 years of 

school completed and those who have completed more than 

12 years of school. The following highlights describe some 

of the differences by education as observed in the October 

data from the NHIS AIDS survey. All differences cited in 

the subsequent text are statistically significant. 
advancedata 3 

~Lestr then -12 years =MorrII than 

12 years 12 years 

AIDS leads to death 

There is no cure for AIDS at present 

Any person with the AIDS virus can pasa Non to 

somaone else during sexual Intercourse 

A pregnant woman who has the AIDS virus oan 

give AIDS to her baby 

AIDS can cripple the body’s natural 

protection against disease 

A person can be infected with	 the AIDS vlrua and not 

have the disease AIDS 

AIDS is a disease caused by a virus 

The AIDS virus can damage the brain 

o	 20 40 60 80 100 

Percent 

SOURCE National Center for Health Statistics, DIvi810nof Heslth Interview Statistics, Natlonsl Health Intervlow SUWoy. 

Flgurc 2. Provlslonal �stlmatos of percent of persons 18 years of �gc and over who think Wcctcd statomonts shout AIDS sro dsflnltely Irus, 

by �ducstlon: Unltod Ststss, Octobar 1s87 

Awareness ofAIDS-While virtually everyone, regardless of education, has heard of AIDS, the more highly 

educated adults reported having last heard about the disease more recently than those with less education. Sixtyeight percent of adults with less than 12 years of school 

completed last saw, heard, or read about AIDS in the 3 

days preceding the NHIS interview, compared to 75 percent of those with 12 years and 79 percent of those with 

more than 12 years of school completed. 

Selj-petuived knowledge–Nine percent of adults with 

less than 12 years of education felt that they know a lot 

about AIDS, compared to 16 and 33 percent, respectively, 

of persons with 12 and more than 12 years of education. 

The proportion of individuals who stated that they know 

“some” about AIDS increases with education as well, from 

26 percent for those with less than 12 years of school 

completed to 48 percent for those with more than 12 years. 

More than one-fourth (26 percent) of adults with less than 

12 years of education said that they know nothing about 

AIDS, compared to 7 percent of those with 12 years and 2 

percent of those with more than 12 years of education. 

General know/edge-Figure 2 shows the percents of 

adults answering “definitely true” to selected knowledge 

questions. In most cases, these proportions increase directly 

with education. 

The largest differences by education are on statements 

that describe the cause of AIDS and the ways in which the 

disease affects the immune system. Thirly-four percent of 

adults with less than 12 years of school completed thought 

that it is definitely true that AIDS is caused by a virus, 

compared to 47 percent of those with 12 years and 58 

percent of those with more than 12 years of school completed. Likewise, the proportion of adults who thought that it is 

definitely true that AIDS can cripple the body’s natural 

protection against disease varies from 47 percent (less thaa 

12 years of school) to 87 percent (more than 12 years of 

school), and the proportion who thought it definitely true 

that a person can be infected with the AIDS virus and not 

have the disease AIDS varies from 33 to 66 percent, 

respectively. The percent of adults who stated that it is 

definitely false that “you can tell if people have the AIDS 

virus just by looking at them” also increases sharply with 

education, from 56 percent of persons with less than 12 

years of education to 69 and 81 percent, respectively, of 

those with 12 and more than 12 years. 

Transmission of the ALDS virus-As shown in figure 3, 

the probability of thinking that it is very unlikely or definitely not possible to get AIDS or the AIDS virus through 

casual contact with someone who has AIDS increases with 

education. Even among adults with more than 12 years of 

education, though, the level of accurate information about 

the risk of AIDS virus transmission is low. For instance, less 

than half (47 percent) of adults with more than 12 years of 

schooling realized that it is very unlikely or impossible to 

get AIDS from public toilets, and only 16 percent thought 

that it is very unlikely or impossible to get AIDS from 

kissing with exchange of saliva a person who has AIDS. 

Among persons with less education, the comparable proportions are even smaller. 
4 acivancedata 

~Le8. than -12 years WMore than 

12 years 12 yaara 

Uvkrg near a hospital or home for AIDS patients 

Shaking hands with or touching someone who has AIDS 

Attending school with a child who hae AIDS 

Working near someone wiIh AIDS 

Donating or giving blood 

Usingpublictoilats 

Kissing—with exchange of saliva—a person who 

has AIDS 

Receiving a blood transfusion 

o 20 40 60 60 100 

Peroent 

SOURC5NationalCsntorforfioallhStatistics,Dlvhlonof HealthhtmviowStatistics,NationalHealthfntervlowSurvey. 

Figuro 3. Provlalonal �atimataa of porcant of paraona 18 ytara of �go and ovor who think It 18very unflkoly or deffrritoly not poaslblo to gst 

AIDS or tho AIDS vlma hrfsctlon from varloua conjoctursd modaa of tranamlssfon, by �ducatlon: Unltad Statas, Octobor 19S7 

In preparing figure 3, the categories “very unlikely” 

and “definitely not possible” were grouped for purposes of 

consistent presentation. Both responses are not necessarily 

correct for all items shown in figure 3. For some items, 

many AIDS researchers would argue that the only correct 

answer is “definitely not possible.” As is evident in table 1, 

the proportions of adults who thought it definitely not 

possible to transmit AIDS via casual contact also increase 

with education. 

Blood testfor the AI..S vkzs—Fifty percent of all adults 

with less than 12 years of school completed have heard of a 

blood test for the AIDS virus. For persons with more 

education, the proportion is higher: 72 percent for individuals with 12 years of school completed and 77 percent for 

those with more than 12 years. The proportion of adults 

who realized that a positive blood test means that a person 

can spread the AIDS virus through sexual intercourse is 44 

percent for persons with less than 12 years of education and 

63 and 67 percent, respectively, for those with 12 and more 

than 12 years. 

Regardless of education, few people have had an AIDS 

blood test: 4 percent of those with less than 12 years of 

school completed, 6 percent of those with 12 years, and 7 

percent of those with more than 12 years of school completed. The proportion of adults who have thought about 

having the AIDS blood test increases with education, from 

8 percent to 14 percent. 

R&k o~gettingA1..S-Adults who have completed less 

than 12 years of school are less likely than their more 

well-educated peers to acknowledge the possibility that they 

or someone they know might get the AIDS virus. The 

proportion of adults who stated that there is no chance that 

someone they know will get the ATDS virus decreases from 

36 percent of individuals with less than 12 years of education to 26 percent of those with more than 12 years, and the 

proportion stating that there is no chance of getting the 

AIDS virus themselves decreases from 70 percent (less 

than 12 years) to 62 percent (more than 12 years). 

AIDS prevention –Adults who have completed 12 years 

of school were more likely than either those with more or 

less education to state that the following methods are very 

effective in preventing transmission of the AIDS virus 

using a condom (considered very effective by 34 percent of 

persons with 12 years of school completed), being celibate 

(93 percent), and maintaining a monogamous relationship 

with a person who does not have the AIDS virus (86 

percent). For adults with less than 12 years of school 

completed, the respective proportions considering these 

methods very effective are 24, 84, and 77 percent; for those 

with more than 12 years of education, the proportions are 

29, 89, and 84 percent. 

AIDS dzkcusswn and educafion-The likelihood of having dkussed AIDS with friends, relatives, or children 

increases with education. Less than half (49 percent) of all 

individuals with less than 12 years of school reported having 

discussed AIDS with a friend or relative, compared to 

two-thirds (66 percent) of those with 12 years of school and 

nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of those with more than 

12 years of school. Similarly, the proportion of adults who 

have discussed AIDS with their children 10-17 years old 

increases from 50 percent of those with less than 12 years of 

education to 66 percent of those with more than 12 years. 
advanceciata 5 

Table 1. Provisional estimates of the percent of persons 18 yeara of age and over with selected AIDS knowledge and attitudes from the 

1987 National Health Interview Survey, by selected characteristics: United States, October 1987 

[Data are bssed on household interviews of me civilian nonlnstifullcnalized populaUon. The survey des!gn, general que.liitione, and information on the reliibilty of 

the estimates are given In technical notes] 

Age Sex Race Educetbrr 

18+?9 30-49 50 years Lass than More than 

AIDS knowledge or attihrde Total years years and over Male Female White Black 12 years 12 years 12 yeats 

Percent distribution 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...100 100 100 100 100 100 Ilxl lW I@) 100 100 

1. Have you ever heard of AIDS? ‘4Men was the lest time you sew, 

heard,	 or read something about AIDS? 

0-3daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 66 78 79 79 71 76 71 66 75 79 

4.7daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 18 15 11 12 16 15 13 15 14 14 

8-14days ago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 4 2 2 4 3 3 2 4 3 

15-31 daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6 2 2 3 3 3 5 4 3 3


Morethan 31 daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 4 2 1 1


Never heard of AIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0


Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 t 1 5 2 2 2 3 7 2 1


2. Compared to most people, how much would you say you know 

about AIDS? 

Alit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 22 27 14 22 21 22 13 9 16 33 

Some . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 49 46 33 41 44 43 37 26 45 48 

Little, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 25 23 34 27 27 26 33 39 31 17 

Nothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 4 4 20 10 9 8 16 26 7 2 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

3a. AlDSlsadise6eecausad byavirus. 

Deflnilelytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4e 5s 55 34 53 44 49 46 34 47 56 

Probeblytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 26 27 24 25 27 26 22 21 27 27 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 

Deflnttelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 4 6 3 5 4 6 6 5 3 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ie 9 12 32 16 20 17 22 36 17 10 

3bi AIDS can cripple the body’s natural protection against disease. 

Definllelylrue, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 78 78 61 73 71 75 57 47 71 87 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 13 15 21 17 17 16 23 26 18 10 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 

Deflnllelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7 4 16 6 10 8 17 24 8 2 

3C, AIDS Is especially common In older people. 

Deflnltelyfrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 

Probablyfrue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 24 17 19 22 17 20 15 17 19 21 

Deflnttelyfalse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 67 76 66 67 73 71 67 59 72 74 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7 6 13 10 8 7 15 21 7 4 

3(L The AIDS virus can damage the brain. 

Definifelylrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 24 27 21 25 24 23 31 21 23 28 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 31 29 34 32 31 31 31 32 32 30 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 12 11 4 e 9 10 6 4 8 12 

Deflnltelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7 7 3 5 6 6 3 3 6 8 

Don’lknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 26 26 37 29 31 30 28 40 31 23 

3e, AIDS usually leads to heart disease. 

Definttelytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7 6 8 7 7 6 12 8 7 6 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 20 21 22 19 22 20 26 23 21 20 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 22 21 11 20 16 19 9 16 24 

Deflnltelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 15 18 10 15 13 14 1: 7 14 18 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 36 35 50 39 42 40 43 53 43 31 

3f. AIDSleadstodeath. 

Deflnttelytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 91 93 90 68 93 91 80 6s 93 91 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8 7 7 9 6 7 9 6 6 8 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Deflnltelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 3 1 0 

4a. Where do you get most of your information about AIDS?* 

Talevlslon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 e2 61 64 61 63 82 88 66 63 78 

Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 53 64 64 66 56 63 51 48 61 63 

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 30 32 26 26 32 31 22 18 26 37 

Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 8 11 9 11 8 10 9 10 8 11 

Relaltvesandfrlends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 12 9 5 8 8 9 8 9 8 

Brochures/filers/pamphlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7 8 4 7 ; 6 9 4 6 9 

Doctor/HMO/cllnic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5 6 4 5 5 5 6 4 4 7 

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 17 20 9 13 18 15 18 9 11 24 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 

4b. Of the sourcesyou justtold me, from whichone do you get the 

mostlnformation? 

Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 59 51 56 55 56 55 66 71 59 

Newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 16 21 25 24 19 22 14 15 23 z 

Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 10 11 7 9 10 9 7 4 8 14 

Brochures/filers/pamphlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 

Doclor/HMO/cllnic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 1: 12 6 : 11 1: 9 6 : 14 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 1 

Seefoctcalesetend oftable. 
6 advancedata 

Table 1. Provisional estimates of the percent of persons 18 years of age and over wfth selected AIDS knowledge and attitudes from the 

1987 National Health Interview Survey, by selected characteristics: United Statea, October 1987—Con. 

[Data are based on household interviews of the ctvilian nonlnstttutionalfzed populatbn. The survey design, general quallflcatlcms, end Inforrnatlon on the relisbllily of 

the estimates are given in technics] notes] 

Age sax Race Educat/orr 

18-.29 30-49 50 years Less than More than 

AIDS knowledge or aflitude Total years years and over Male Female Whtfe Black 12yaats 12 years 12 years 

5a 

5b. 

8a 

6b. 

8C. 

w. 

8a. 

Of. 

7. 

7a 

7b. 

If you wanted more spectfk information about AIDS, where 

would you get It?z 

Doctor/HMO/cllnic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Publlcheal!h department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

AIDShot llne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Which one source would you most likely use? 

Doctor/HMO/clkrlc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Public health department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

AIDShot line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Ofher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

A parson can be Infected wtth the AIDS virus and not have the 

dlseaseAIDS. 

Deflniielytfue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablytme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probeblyfelse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Defirdtelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

You can tell if people have the AIDS virus just by looking at 

them. 

Definltelytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

DefinRelyfalsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Anypersonwtththe AIDSvkuscenpase Itontosomeone 81ss 

during sexual intercourse. 

Definifelytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probeblyfalee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Definitelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Apr6gnantwom8n whohaetheAIDS virusc8ngiveAlDS to 

her baby. 

Definitelytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablytrue, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Definifelyfalse, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Donlknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

There is a vaccine available to the public that protects a parson 

fromgetfingtheAIDS virus. 

Defirdlelytru e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablyftise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Definilelyfelse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Donlknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

There is no cure for AIDS et present. 

Definitelytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablytrue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Probablyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Definitelyfalse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

How likely do you think if is that a person will get the AIDS virus 

from– 

Racetvlngablood transfusion? 

Vefylikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Somewhrdlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Somewhatunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Veryunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Definttelynotpossible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Donating or giving blood? 

Veryllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

.%mewhatllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Somewhatunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Veryunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Definltelynotposslble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Percent distrlbutbnl 

57 68 58 57 54 59 58 51 55 60 6!5 

18 17 21 17 19 17 18 20 11 19 21 

11 14 13 6 11 11 11 5 11 14 

8 10 10 5 7 10 8 1: 7 7 10 

28 32 31 20 29 27 27 31 16 24 37 

12 9 9 18 12 11 12 12 21 13 6 

46 42 46 60 44 48 47 41 60 46 42 

13 13 15 12 15 12 13 15 9 15 14 

8 11 8 5 7 8 7 8 5 8 9 

6 7 7 4 5 7 6 6 5 5 7 

15 16 15 11 16 13 14 16 11 11 21 

12 9 9 16 13 12 12 12 21 13 6 

54 56 62 44 52 56 56 41 33 53 66 

26 25 24 30 2e 23 26 28 2e 2e 23 

3 4 3 2 4 3 3 6 4 3 3 

6 3 2 4 4 3 7 5 4 3 

1: 6 6 22 12 15 12 22 30 13 5 

1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 

5 3 3 4 : 3 4 5 ; 3 

16 14 16 14 16 17 

73 77 63 z 73 : 63 G 69 : 

4 5 16 9 9 6 14 20 8 3 

79 81 60 75 75 62 76 63 75 81 76 

16 15 15 16 16 14 16 12 17 14 16 

1 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 2 

1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 

4 3 3 7 5 4 4 5 7 4 2 

73 77 75 69 69 77 74 70 63 75 77 

19 19 19 20 22 17 19 22 24 16 18 

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

7 5 5 1: 8 5 7 8 1; 6 4 

2 2 1 2 1 1 

3 3 : 2 ; : : 

1: 7 1: 6 10 8 : 

73 78 : 71 70 73 61 51 ;: 6! 

10 11 25 13 16 14 22 33 15 7 

88 85 88 84 84 87 87 81 79 85 91 

8 6 6 9 9 6 7 10 10 8 6 

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 

4 3 2 : : 4 3 6 9 3 1 

34 34 31 37 31 36 32 45 45 35 27 

31 31 31 32 2e 34 31 32 29 35 29 

13 16 16 16 11 14 e 7 12 

16 15 18 1: 19 13 17 6 6 13 z 

2 2 2 1 

: : 2 : : : ; 7 9 : 1 

e 8 6 10 8 8 7 16 14 5 14 15 13 14 13 15 12 25 1: 10 

12 12 13 12 12 13 13 11 ;: 12 14 

35 39 38 24) 38 32 37 22 24 34 40 

25 22 28 24 25 25 26 16 18 25 29 

6 4 3 11 5 7 5 10 14 5 2 

8sef@n0tesaterd oftable. 
advancecfata 7 

Table 1. Provlalonal estimates of the percent of persons 18 years of age and over with selected AIDS knowledge and attitudes from the 

1987 National Health Interview Survey, by selacted characteristic= United Statea, October 1987-Con. 

[Data are based on household Intervlaws of the civilian noninsttIut!onalized population. The survey design, general quatiitions, and Information on the reliabiltt of 

the esllmates are gtven In technical notes] 

Age sax Race Educetbrr 

16-29 30-49 50 yaat3 Less than More than 

AIDS knowledge or attiiude Total yeats years and over Male Female White Black 12yrnrs 12yeers 12yeers 

Percent distribuftoni 7C, Living near a hospital or home for AIDS patkmts? 

Veryllkely. ,,, .,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 

Somewhat liltely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 3 3 5 4 3 6 5 4 3 

Somewhat unllltely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 11 9 10 9 9 f4 10 11 6 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 40 35 35 36 35 37 32 33 36 39 

Deflnltely notposslble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 40 46 41 40 44 44 31 34 41 4a 

Don’ttmow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4 5 10 6 7 5 12 16 6 2 

7d. Working near someone wtth AIDS? 

Verylikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 7 4 4 3 

Somewi?atllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 16 13 15 13 15 13 22 16 16 12 

Somewhatunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 15 17 15 16 15 16 13 14 17 15 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 35 33 31 33 32 34 26 27 29 39 

Definitelynotposslble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 26 28 24 26 26 27 20 21 26 28 

Don’tknow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 4 7 13 8 8 8 12 19 6 3 

79.	 Eating In a restaurant where the cook has AIDS? 

Veryllkely, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 10 9 10 9 10 6 17 11 12 6 

Somewhatllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 23 24 25 25 22 23 26 27 24 21 

Somewhatunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 16 14 16 16 16 16 12 12 16 18 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 25 22 22 26 25 27 19 19 22 33 

Deflnlfelynotpossible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 16 14 11 12 15 14 12 12 74 14 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 e 10 16 11 12 12 13 19 13 7 

7f. IUsslng-wiih exchange of saliva-a person who has AIDS? 

Vefylikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 27 30 32 26 31 28 36 32 32 26 

Somewhatllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 3a 39 36 39 37 3a 40 36 3a 39 

Somewhatunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 13 9 10 10 11 11 3 7 10 14 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 11 12 7 12 9 11 7 8 9 13 

Deflnltelynotpossible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6 8 12 9 9 e 10 15 8 6 

7g. Shaking hands with or touching someone who has AIDS? 

Vetylikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 

Somewhatlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Somewhatunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1: 1: 1: 1; 1: 1: 2 1: 1; 1: 

Veryunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 39 40 37 4f 37 41 32 28 3a 46 

Deflntlelynotpossible, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 33 30 25 27 31 29 23 25 28 32 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2 5 11 6 7 6 10 16 6 2 

7h, Sharing plates, forks, or glasses with someone who has AIDS? 

Veryllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 13 12 14 12 14 12 19 16 14 

Somewhatlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 30 33 31 32 31 31 33 32 33 z 

Somewhatunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 16 14 14 14 16 16 10 11 14 18 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 21 23 18 24 16 22 15 15 16 27 

Deflnttelynotposslble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 13 10 9 10 11 11 9 9 11 11 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 6 8 14 8 11 9 i3 17 10 6 

71.	 Using public toilets? 

Veryllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6 7 6 6 9 7 13 11 9 9 

Somewhatlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 19 19 22 20 20 19 25 28 22 16 

8omewhalunllk81y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 15 15 13 14 14 15 13 10 14 16 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 30 33 24 32 26 31 19 16 28 28 

Definltelynotposslbl e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 20 18 17 16 18 19 12 13 16 17 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 8 8 17 10 12 10 16 21 11 12 

7j. Sharing needles for drug use with someone who has AIDS? 

Verylikely, ,: .,, ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 94 95 89 92 93 93 80 86 93 92 

Somawhatllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 4 6 5 4 4 6 e 4 4 

Somewhalunllkely . .,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 o 0 0 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 

D6flnltelynotpossible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 : 0 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 1 4 2 2 2 3 5 2 3 

7k. Klsslng on the cheek a parson who has AIDS? 

Veryllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 7 4 3 3 

Somewhatlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 11 10 11 12 10 10 17 15 13 12 

Somewhatunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 18 18 18 19 17 17 22 17 19 18 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 33 37 33 37 33 37 23 24 33 31 

Definitelynolpossible, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 30 27 21 23 26 26 22 23 24 28 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 5 13 7 8 7 9 17 6 7 

7L Being coughed or sneezed on by someone who has AIDS? 

Ve~lRely. .o. ., oi. $oi. ..$... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 9 9 10 9 10 9 14 13 10 13 

Somewhatlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 24 2e 32 28 28 28 35 35 30 25 

Somewhatunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 19 18 14 17 17 16 13 11 17 19 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 25 26 18 25 21 24 14 14 20 18 

Defirdfelynotpossibl e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 16 11 8 11 12 12 11 7 12 14 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 7 8 17 10 11 10 14 19 11 12 

See footnotesat end of table. 
Table 1. Provisional estimates of the percent of persons 18 years of age and over with selected AIDS knowledge and anitudes from the 

1987 National Health Interview Survey, by selected characteristics: United States, October 1987-Con. 

[Defa are based on household Interview of the chilkm noninstltutionallzed populatbn. The survey design, general qualificeflcms, end Information on the reliability of 

the estimates are given in technical notes] 

Age sex Race Educaflon 

la29 w-49 5oyaat3 Lass than More than 

AIDS Imowiedge or aflifude Total pars yams and over Male FemaIe Whne Black 12ymts 12years 12years 

7m. Attending school wtlh a child who has AIDS? 

Vetylikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Somewhat likely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. 

. 

. . 

. . 

. . . . . 

. . . . . 

. . 

. . 

. 

. 

. 

. 

2 

9 1: 2 

9 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 2 2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

11 1? 

Somewhat unllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 14 16 13 15 1: 1: 19 16 14 17 

Veryunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 39 36 33 41 33 36 33 28 35 30 

Definitely notpoaslble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 31 28 25 25 31 2e 23 23 28 32 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 4 7 17 8 10 9 13 20 10 7 

7n. Mosquitoes or other Insects? 

Veryllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9 8 8 8 8 7 15 11 10 10 

Somewhat llkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 27 25 25 26 25 28 25 32 25 31 

Somewhat unlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 13 10 7 11 9 10 e 11 11 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 21 22 19 22 20 22 1: 13 19 15 

Definitely notpossible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 14 16 14 15 15 12 14 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 18 19 : 19 23 21 25 $ : 20 

70.	 Pets or animals? 

Veryllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 2 3 2 2 8 5 2 2 

.%mawhatllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 1: 9 8 9 10 8 16 12 11 

Somewhatunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 11 8 9 8 8 8 8 8 :: 

Veryunlikely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 32 3: 26 33 27 31 22 22 28 24 

Definttelynotpoeelble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 27 27 25 25 28 27 20 19 26 26 

Don’tlmow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 17 22 30 21 25 23 28 34 23 24 

7p. Having sex wiih a person who has AIDS? 

Veryllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 94 94 91 91 95 es e2 91 95 90 

.%mewhatllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5 5 6 7 4 5 6 5 4 6 

somewhafunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Veryunllkely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Deflnifelynotpossible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 2 : 1 3 

8. Have you ever heard of a blood test for infectbn with the 

AIDSVIIUS? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 81 81 56 74 72 75 56 50 72 77 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 18 16 36 23 25 22 40 45 24 16 

Donlknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 2 6 3 3 3 1 4 4 4 

9.	 Doeslhietesttellwhether aperson hasthediseese AIDS? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 45 41 32 36 41 40 37 31 43 43 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 25 2e 16 27 20 25 11 Ie 25 

Don’tknow . ..0.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 10 10 10 9 11 10 10 1: 11 9 

Never heard oftest(no/don’t knowtoq.8) . . . . . . . . . . J 27 19 19 42 28 28 25 42 50 28 23 

10.	 If a parson has a positive bloat test for Infection with the AIDS 

virus, dossthiemesn thattheycanglve someoneelsethe AIDS 

virus through sexual Intercourse? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 72 71 48 65 62 66 51 44 63 67 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 4 2 4 3 4 2 2 3 5 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 5 6 5 6 6 6 4 6 6 

Neverheardoftest (no/don’tknowtoq. 8).. . . . . . . . . . 27 19 19 42 26 28 25 42 50 28 23 

11.	 Have you ever had your blood tested for Infection with the AIDS 

Vkus? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8 6 3 7 4 5 9 4 6 7 

Yes,lnblocddonatbn/transfusbn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 3 1 2 1 1 1 5 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 67 68 52 2 83 2 48 43 63 64 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 

Neverheardoftest(no/donlknowtoq. e).. . . . . . . . . . 27 19 19 42 26 28 25 42 50 28 23 

12a. Have you ever thought about having this blood test? 

Alreadylladtest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 12 10 4 10 7 8 10 5 7 12 

Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 16 13 4 10 11 10 15 8 10 14 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 53 ea 49 53 54 56 33 36 54 51 

Don’fknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -

Neverheardoftest(no/donlknowtoq. 8) . . . . . . . . . . . 27 20 20 42 26 29 25 42 50 28 23 

12b. Do you plan to be tested in the next 12 months? 

Alreadyhadtest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 12 10 4 11 7 8 10 5 7 12 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6 5 1 3 4 3 9 3 4 4 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7 6 2 5 5 5 4 2 4 7 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 

Never heard of test or thought about having test (no/don’t 

knowtoq.80rq. 12a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 73 77 92 79 82 82 76 66 63 74 

Saefwtnc4esatend oftable. 
Table 1. Provisional estimates of the percent of pereons 18 years of age and over with selected AIDS knowledge and attitudea from the 

1987 National Health Interview Suwey, by selected characteristic= United States, October 1987-Con. 

[Data are based on household Inlervlews of the civilian nonlnsltfutionalized population. The survey design, general quetificalicms, and information on the reliabiiii of 

the estimates are given in technical notes] 

Age sex Race Education 

16-29 30-49 50 years Less than More than 

AIDS knowledge oraffifude Total years years and over Male FemaIe Whfte Black 12 yars 12 years 12 years 

13. Where would you go to have a blood test for the AIDS virus Percent distfibutkml 

lnfection?3 

NowhereAvouldn’t taKetest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 1 0 0 

AIDScllnlo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 2 4 3 

Olhercllnlo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 28 25 19 24 26 24 37 22 30 29


Doctor/HMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 46 47 44 41 50 47 36 46 43 43


Red Cross/blood banlr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 3 3 2 3 3 2 3


Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 15 16 19 20 13 15 21 18 13 19


Don’tlmow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6 6 11 9 5 e 3 9 e 6


14, Where would you go to find out whereto have this blood 

test?z” 

AIDShotline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5 8 3 

AIDSclinio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Othercllnlc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 43 20 8 18 31 

Doctor/HMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 36 31 56 22 70 32 100 43 39 21 

Frlande . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Public health department 12 10 16 12 12 12 25 7 19 — other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 14 16 11 15 13 12 11 24 

Nowhere/wouldn’ttaketest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7 5 e — 6 12 089 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 24 44 27 20 — 32 55 

15.	 Have you donated blood since 1885? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 18 15 5 16 9 13 9 4 14 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 82 84 95 64 91 87 91 96 2 86 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

16. Have you ever personally known anyone who had the blood 

lestfortheAIDSvkus	 Infectbn? 

Yes, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 16 19 6 13 15 15 9 7 10 17 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 81 61 93 66 64 84 89 91 69 83 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 

17. What are the chances of someone you know getting the AIDS 

virus? 

High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 13 11 5 9 9 9 10 7 8 

Medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 21 16 8 17 14 15 15 10 16 1: 

Low, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 40 41 33 41 35 40 24 24 38 35 

None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 21 22 37 23 29 25 32 36 28 26 

Refused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Don’tknow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 5 9 18 10 12 10 19 22 10 11 

16, What are your chances of getting the AIDS virus? 

High 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 

Medium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 3 1 4 2 3 3 2 3 4 

Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 37 34 19 32 28 31 25 18 30 30 

None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 54 ae 73 60 64 62 65 70 63 62 

Refused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 — 0 0 0 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3 3 6 4 4 3 ; 9 4 4 

19.	 Here are methods some people use to prevent geftlng the AIDS 

virus through saxual activily. How effective ls— 

19a, Using a diaphragm? 

Veryeffectlve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 5 2 3 

Somewhateffeclive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 14 11 13 12 13 12 16 14 1: 10 

NotatalleffectNe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 61 65 47 57 59 61 41 40 57 59 

Don’lknowhoweffecttve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 18 17 28 21 21 21 28 30 23 19 

Don’tknowmethod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 4 10 6 5 5 12 14 6 9 

19b. Using a condom? 

Vefyeffective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 41 34 26 35 31 33 33 24 34 29 

Somewhateffective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 49 54 50 51 51 52 46 46 50 53 

Notatalleffective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 5 5 4 6 5 8 e 6 7 

Don’tknowhoweffective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 15 e 10 a 11 18 9 e 

Don’lknowmethod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1 1 5 2 2 2 4 7 1 3 

19c4 Using a spermlcldal Jelly, foam, or cream? 

Veryeffectlve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 3 

Somewha!effective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 15 14 13 14 14 14 16 1? 1: 1: 

NotatalleffecUve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 61 62 46 53 59 58 48 43 56 57 

Don’tknowhoweffecWe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 17 16 30 23 20 21 27 31 22 18 

Don’lknowmethod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5 4 10 8 5 6 8 14 6 9 

19d. Being celibate, that Is, not having sex at all? 

Veryeffectlve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 94 94 66 91 93 93 90 84 93 89 

Somewhateffective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 

Notatalleffective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 : 

Don’tknowhoweffective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 1 5 3 2 2 3 6 2 6 

Don’tknowmethod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 1 3 2 1 1 2 5 1 2 

Seefodnotesat endoftable. 
10 advancedata 

Table 1. Provisional estimates of the percent of persons 18 yeara of age and over with selected AIDS knowledge and attitudea from the 

1987 National Health Interview Survey, by selected characteristic= United States, October 1987-Con. 

[Data are besad on household interviews of the civilian nonlnstttutionalized population. The survey design, general quallfkallons, and information on the rellabiltty of 

the esllmates are given In technical notes] 

Age sex Race Educdbn 

18-29 30-49 50 yssfs Less than More than 

AIDS knowledge or aifilude Total years yeets and over Male FemaIe W/We Black 12 years 12 years 12 years 

lee. 

20. 

21. 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

28. 

29. 

Two people who do not have the AIDS virus having a 

completely monogamous relationship, that is, having sex 

only with each other? 

VeryeffectNa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Somewhat effective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Notatali effective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknowhow effecltve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknowmethod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Have you ever discussed AIDS with a friend or relative? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Donlknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

When was the last time you discussed AIDS w~h a frlsnd or 

relative? 

0-3daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

4-7daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

8-14daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

15-31 daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Morefhan31 daysago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Neverdiscussed(no/don’t knowtoq.20). . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Have y~u ever discussed AIDS with [any of your children age 

10-17]? 

Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Have your children had any instruction at school about AIDS?5 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Have you ever personally known anyone wilh the AIDS virus? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Have you ever personally known anyone with AIDS? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

The U.S.PublicHealth Setvkehaesaidthat AIDSisoneofthe 

major health problems in the country but exactly how many 

people It affects Is not known. The Surgeon General has 

proposed that a study be conducted and blood samples bs 

taken to help find out how widespread the problem Is. If you 

were selected in this national sample of people to have their 

blood tested with assurances of priwacy of test results, would 

you have the test? 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Would you want to know the results of the blood tesl?e 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Don’tknow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Percentdlstributioni 

66 89 62 87 66 86 79 77 86 84 

8 8 8 8 8 7 13 9 9 6 

1 1 1 1 1 

: 1 : 3 3 3 : ; 3 : 

0 1 3 2 2 1 3 6 1 3 

67 75 75 51 63 70 67 65 49 66 72 

33 24 25 48 37 29 32 35 50 34 27 

0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 

18 17 18 13 13 19 15 22 13 13 

18 19 21 14 19 17 19 14 14 K 19 

8 10 5 7 9 6 6 

13 1; 14 8 13 13 1; 17 7 13 i: 

6 10 6 5 6 9 8 7 4 7 11 

35 26 28 51 36 31 34 36 53 35 31 

3 2 2 4 3 3 3 3 3 

63 31 65 57 60 74 64 60 60 

37 69 35 43 60 26 36 40 50 

0 0 1 0 

45 23 46 47 42 46 46 44 43 

22 41 21 26 20 23 22 19 20 

33 36 33 27 36 28 32 37 36 

7 7 10 5 8 7 8 6 4 

91 92 89 94 91 92 91 92 94 

1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 

8 8 6 4 

91 2 J1 9: 9; 9; 91 92 94 

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 

70 72 75 63 72 66 71 69 62 

21 19 18 24 19 22 20 21 25 

2 2 2 3 2 2 3 1 2 

7 7 5 10 6 8 7 9 11 

97 ee 97 97 97 98 97 97 97 

2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 

1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 

Forquestlon2through 27,torataIsoexcludes PWSOCSVJhOneVef b~dofA!Js. 

3 4 

62 66 

36 34 

41 60 

23 18 

36 31 

4 7 

95 91 

1 2 

6 

9:	 93 

1 1 

70 70 

20 22 

2 2 

7 6 

96 96 

2 2 

0 2 

l~clud=vwn~ ~rw~mmmSWm WEOrdedWWISO refusedtorespond.


‘Mullplereqmnses may?umtonme lhan100pememt.
 3W on ~mm answering yes to questkm ‘2R


4= on WMB ~Wring don’t know tO qu@lon 13.


6BA on ~Mm ~we~w yes :o question22, DOyou IWWSany children aged 1517? Cuestbn ~ was, HOW ITWIY do W have? 

8~~ on ~~~ answering ye9 to w=tkm 2s. 

NOTETotal,age, sex,enceducatlon Includepersonsof ottmrsmdunknown racermtshwvnseparately undermce.Educa.tbn referstoyeamof schodcompleted. 
advanceckfta 11 

Technical notes 

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is a 

continuous, cross-sectional household interview survey. 

Each week, a probability sample of the civilian noninstituTable 1. Sample size for the National Health Interview Survey of 

AIDS Knowledge and Attitudea and estimated aduit population 

18 years of age and over, by seiected characteristics: 

United States, October 1987 

Estimated 

.Semple populathxr 

Characteristic size in thousands 

Alladulls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,350 174,528 

Age 

18-29 yeare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877 47,725 

30-49 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,235 ae,loe 

60years andover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,236 60,695 

sex 

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.365 82,703 

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1;935 91,825 

Race 

White . .. i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,754 151,003 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495 19,107 

Lessthan 12yeare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750 41,503 

12years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,292 66,475 

Morethan 12years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,276 62,363 

tionalized population is interviewed by personnel of the 

U.S. Bureau of the Census to obtain information on the 

health and other characteristics of each member of the 

household. Supplemental information is collected for all or 

a sample of household members. The AIDS knowledge and 

attitudes questions were asked of a single randomly chosen 

adult 18 years of age or over in each household. The 

estimates in this report are based on completed interviews 

with 3,350 persons, or about 86 percent of eligible respondents. 

Table I contains the estimated population size of each 

of the demographic subgroups included in table 1 to allow 

readers to derive provisional estimates of the number of 

people in the United States with a given characteristic, for 

example, the number of men who have heard of AIDS. The 

population figures in table I are based on first-quarter 1987 

data from the NHIS; they are not official population estimates. Table 11 shows approximate standard errors of 

estimates presented in table 1. Both the estimates in table 1 

and the standard errors in table II are provisionaL They 

may differ slightly from estimates made using the final data 

file because they were calculated using a simplified weighting procedure that does not adjust for all the factors used in 

weighting the final data file. The final data file covering the 

entire 5-month period of data collection, August through 

December 1987, will be available in 1988. 

Table IL Standard errors, expressed in percentage points, of estimated percente from the National Health Interview Survey of AIDS 

Knowiedge and Attitudes, by selected characteristics: United States, October 1987 

Age sex Race Educatbn 

16-.29 30-49 50 yews Less then hfotethen 

Estimated percent Total y&WS years and over Male Female write Black 12 years 12years 12 years 

5cr95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 0.9 o.e 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 1.2 

Iocrw,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.6 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.7 1.7 

150r85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.7 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.0 0.8 2.0 

200r80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.8 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.1 0.9 2.2 

25cr75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.2 1.0 2.4 

3oor70 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 1.9 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.1 2.5 

350r65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 2.0 1.7 1,7 1.6 1.3 1.1 2.6 

4ocr60. ., o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.3 1.1 2.7 

45cr55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.1 2.8 

50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 2.1 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.2 2.e 

Symbols 

1.0 0.7 0.7 

1.4 1.0 1.0 

1.6 1.2 1.2 

1.8 1.4 1.4 

2.0 1.5 1.5 

2.1 1.6 1.6 

2.2 1.6 1.6 

2.2 1.7 1.7 

2.3 1.7 1.7 

2.3 1.7 1.7 

. Quantity zero 

o Quantity more than zero but less than 0.5 
12 acivancedata 

Recent Issues of Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics 

No. 149. Aging in the Eightie* People Living Alone-2 

Years Later (In preparation) 

No. 148. AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes for September 

1987 (Issued January 18, 1988) 

No. 147. Nursing and Related Care Homes as Reported 

From the 1986 Inventory of Long-Term Care Places (Issued January 22, 1988) 

Suggested citation 

National Center for Health Statistics, D, A, Dawaon, 

M, Cynamon, and J, E. Fro”.1988. AIDS knowledge 

and attitudes for Ootober 1987, Provisional data 

from the National Health Interview Survey. Advance 

Dai%From Vital and Health Statistics. No. 150. 

DHHS Pub. No, (PHS) 88-1250, Public Health 

Service, Hyattaville, Md. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Public Health Service 

Centers for Disease Control 

National Center for Health Statistics


3700 East-West Highway


Hyattsville, Maryland 20782


OFFICIAL BUSINESS


PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300


To reeeive this publication regularly, contaot


the National Center for Health Statistics by


calling 301-438-8500


DHHS Publication No, (PHS) 88-1280


No. 146. AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes, Provisional Data 

From the National Health Interview Survey United States, 

August 1987 (Issued November 19, 1987) 

No. 145.1986 Summary: National Hospital Discharge Survey (Issued September 30, 1987) 

No. 144. Expected Source of Payment for Hospital Discharges, United States 1985 (Issued Deeember 7, 1987) 

Copyright information 

This report may be reprinted without further 

permission. 

I BULK RATE 

POSTAGE & FEES PAID I 

PHS/NCHS I PERMIT No, G-281 I