Fear of AIDS

Abstract

Americans in general are still influenced by the fear of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This fear, often uninformed and unwarranted, has an impact on many of the issues discussed in some of the chapters in this volume. A number of these chapters focus on the issue of sexual transmission, a subject which is of great concern. The fear of other routes of transmission persists, including those that either do not exist or, if they do, are really inconsequential in terms of the total AIDS epidemic. To some extent we have been hampered in our efforts to deal with the disease by an obsessive fear of transmission by nonsexual, “casual” contact. What appear to be really important factors in terms of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission are sexuality and substance abuse. Yet there is a great deal of difficulty in publicly and intelligently dealing with these particular aspects of basic human existence in the context of the AIDS epidemic. We are all sexual beings, and many in our society are abusers of either legal or illegal drugs. These behaviors are deeply embedded in our psychology and our culture, making them difficult to approach in such a way that behavior can be changed.