Contributions of the functional analysis of behavior to the problem of AIDS
Bayes, R.
Revista Latinoamericana de Psicologia 24(1-2): 35-56
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0120-0534 PMID: 12285545 Document Number: 321317
Epidemiological patterns in the spread of HIV infection and the potential role of psychologists in encouraging behavioral changes intended to reduce risks of infection are examined. The 1st great wave of AIDS cases in the industrialized countries occurred primarily in specific, fairly self-contained subgroups such as male homosexuals, hemophiliacs, and IV drug users. Large proportions in these groups are either infected or have adapted risk reduction behavior. The risk of infection for the general heterosexual population in industrialized countries is very low but likely to increase progressively unless measures are taken to reduce risks. Psychologists, who expend considerable effort researching and attempting to effect behavioral changes, thus have a potentially significant role in slowing the spread of the AIDS epidemic. The means of avoiding HIV infection in sexually active persons and drug users are known, but the means of motivating individuals to change to less risky behaviors are not as well understood. Several factors have been identified that appear to influence the vulnerability of the organism to HIV infection or to development of AIDS once infected. Several are capable of modification through behavioral changes, such as high-risk sexual practices, use of particular contraceptive methods, inadequate hygiene, poor nutrition, and self-administration of drugs. Several aspects of HIV infection and its spread are capable of producing psychological stress, including anxiety over possible infection and testing, reaction to diagnosis, fear of rejection by others, watching friends and relatives sicken and die of AIDS, encountering suspicious symptoms, and perceiving signs of physical deterioration. Psychological support in these situations can help to prolong life and improve its quality. Examples abound of individuals who continue to display a risk behavior despite being well informed of its risks; physicians who smoke are 1 such group. Information is a necessary but not sufficient condition for adapting preventive behaviors. Functional behavioral analysis suggests that immediate pleasure, ephemeral though it may be, outweighs the mere possibility of an unpleasant consequence at some hypothetical future date.