A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters Of Arts (Counselling Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University Of Zululand, 2013
. / Background: AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The HIV and AIDS epidemic is one of the largest obstacles that are destroying the lives and the livelihoods of millions of South Africans. Adolescents are the most vulnerable population at high risk of contracting HIV.Department of Health (2010) noted that in South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is the province with the highest HIV prevalence. Aims: To explore the perceptions of adolescents living in a township about HIV/AIDS. : To explore factors contributing to adolescents’ high rate of HIV/AIDS infection. To explore the influences of these perceptions on adolescents’ sexual behavior.: To explore adolescents’ general knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS.Method: Data collection instrument that was employed is a questionnaire with both open-ended and closed ended questions. Random sampling was employed and 50 participants from Ongoye high school took part in this study with 44% males (n=22) and 56% females (n=28).Results: Findings of this study revealed that the majority of respondents have enough information in regard to meaning, mode of transmission and preventing methods of HIV/AIDS, however some of the participants listed unrealistic perceptions about HIV/AIDS. When comparing between both genders, females seems to have more misconceptions about HIV and AIDS than males.Conclusion: Adolescents have misconceptions about HIV and AIDS. More programmes that target adolescents should be implemented in order to address these misconceptions as well as the factors that make them vulnerable to contract HIV/AIDS. More research should also be conducted on issues related to HIV/AIDS among adolescents.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/1715 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Maselesele, Mosiwa Georgina |
| Publisher | University of Zululand |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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