Death Anxiety as a Moderation Factor on Sexual Behavior Related to the Risk of HIV Infection in Young Adults

This study was conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between level of death anxiety and risky sexual behavior that may lead to HIV/AIDS. It was hypothesized that the higher one's death anxiety level the less an individual would engage in high risk behavior. A sample of 151 young adult college students with a mean age of 22.6 years completed the Revised Death Anxiety Scale (RDAS). The survey also asked the participants to list the extent that they have engaged in six sexual behaviors known to increase one's risk of HIV infection. The participants also completed a 12 question post-test that assessed whether or not they are aware of the danger such behaviors pose. Of the 130 participants that passed the post-test, 107 acknowledged engaging in the risky sexual behaviors to various degrees and 23 denied any such behaviors. A Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was calculated for the RDAS and the degree to which individuals engaged in risky sexual behavior. The resulting correlation coefficient was p=.63, p<.0001. A General Linear Model Procedure determined that the mean RDAS score for the group that did not engage in risky behavior was significantly greater than that of the group who engaged in such behaviors.