Relationships between Media Exposure and Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on HIV/AIDS: A Cross Sectional Survey of Adolescent Islamiyya Girls in Nigeria.

Exposure to HIV/AIDS media among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa was reported as low in the early 2000s, but now given developments in technology and program appeal, there emerges a need for reassessment. Given that communication, particularly through the media plays a major role in stemming the spread of the epidemic, this study examines the HIV/AIDS media exposure, knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of adolescent Islamiyya girls in northern Nigeria as a predominantly Muslim society. The objectives of the study were to (1) identify the girls' major sources of information on HIV/AIDS; (2) assess their exposure to HIV/AIDS media and their HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitude and practice; and (3) verify relationships between media exposure and HIV/AIDS KAP. Based on the Advertising Research Foundation's Hierarchy of Effects model, hypotheses were posed to test the relationships. A questionnaire survey was administered on a randomly selected sample of 500 Islamiyya girls in Bauchi, Nigeria, from an estimated population of 35,000. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results showed media exposure is not a significant predictor of HIV/AIDS practice, but it is a significant predictor of HIV/AIDS knowledge. And HIV/AIDS knowledge significantly predicted both HIV/AIDS attitude and practice. HIV/AIDS attitude also significantly predicted HIV/AIDS practice. It is thus concluded that among Nigerian adolescent girls, exposure to HIV/AIDS media is a necessary but not a sufficient predictor of HIV/AIDS KAP.

Youth hedonistic behaviour: moderating role of peer attachment on the effect of religiosity and worldview.

This study was carried out on the moderating effect of peer attachment on the relationships between religiosity and worldview, and on how hedonistic behaviour among Malaysian undergraduate students is shaped by such influences. With regard to peer attachment, the study focused on the influences of communication, trust and alienation among youth. Bronfenbrenner's theory of human ecology and Armsden and Greenberg's attachment model were used as the framework. Drawing on a quantitative survey of 394 Malaysian university students (M age = 21.0, SD = 0.40), structural equation modelling and path analysis revealed a significant relationship between worldview and hedonistic behaviour. Peer attachment moderated the relationships between religiosity and religious worldview. The results further showed that the unique moderating effect of the lower level of attachment with peers is positively related to the hedonistic behaviour. Implications from the findings are discussed.