Social Cognitive Theory and STDs and HIV among African Americans Communities

Social Cognitive Theory and STDs and HIV among African Americans Communities

Introduction

The social cognitive theory (SCT) explains different personal experiences, actions of others in the community and related environmental issues, and their impacts on the individual’s health patterns. Various research works show that the theory offers chances for social support of the affected people to achieve personal behavior change significant for their health. Scholars explain that model plays a fundamental role in explaining and preventing HIV and STDs among the African American community. By using the method, individuals and organizations employ different approaches in the intervention of HIV and STDs response among the blacks who face different social challenges. Previous and current studies indicate that HIV and STDs significantly affect the population of African American, including women, adolescent and heterosexual individuals like men who have sex with men. The disparity of HIV and STDs infection among African Americans started at the beginning of the pandemic. In 1982, African American comprised 23% of the reported cases while they only constitute 12% of the American population. Moreover, recent data indicate the African American contributes to 50% of the new HIV infections. The research works conducted shows the overrepresentation results from risky behaviors such as men who sex with men (MSM), heterosexuals and injection drug users. For instance, recent data released by the centre for disease control and prevention (CDC) indicates that in New York, African American accounted for 33% of the HIV positives tests that existed as MSM.

Social Cognitive Theory

Past and recent studies affirm that SCT significantly guides the development and implementation of the different types of health interventions aimed at reducing the infection rate and prevalence rates of HIV and STDs.  As per Carillo (2010), various studies indicate that concepts of the theory majorly concentrates on the significances of the self-monitoring, which leads to behavioral change. As a result, the SCT operates based on the three components like self-evaluation, self-judgment as well as self-monitoring (Carillo, 2010). Evidence originating from different randomized studies show that SCT critically offers substantial benefits for the clinical interventions in diseases such as STDs and HIV. SCT was developed by Professor Albert Bandura and existed and learning the concept of the target population. As per Swanson (2018), the theory offers the frameworks as well as understanding how individuals get shaped or change by their surroundings. Past and recent research works affirm that SCT primarily operates on the observational learning process, which involves observing and imitating the structure encountered in the environment. SCT possesses various components like self-efficacy in which assumes that individuals hold control over their behaviors and has the capability for executing them in different conditions (Swanson, 2018).  On the same note, reinforcement exists as the principles of SCT, which promote the incentives as well as rewarding, which encourages a change of personal behaviors. Furthermore, scholars explain that SCT plays a fundamental role in offering an understanding of how social factors influence the health of individuals, and personal experience affects her of his change in behavior (Hart et al., 2019). Therefore, SCT plays a crucial role in the intervention program, such as those cases of HIV and STDs among the African American communities.

Approaches to Behavioral Change for STDs and HIV

Recent studies, as well as past ones, indicate that HIV and STDs remain health risk to African Americans as the community experiences the highest prevalence rates as compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Socioeconomic factors like discrimination, poverty, and access to low-quality healthcare among the group critically contribute to the high infection rates. CDC (2020) explains that the recent introduction of Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent infection rate among the African American possess limited impacts in reducing the cases. Furthermore, individuals’ sexual behaviors among this population facilitate the spread of sexual infections such as HIV and STDs (CDC, 2020). Moreover, currently, people and organizations employ behavioral theories in dealing with HIV and STDs. According to Swanson (2018), the theoretical framework gets guided by the social norms, sexual communication, and the risk perception of the African American communities. Various approaches exist aimed at the reduction of HIV risks and infection rates. A recent study focused on African American women and used twelve interventions based on SCT concepts. As per Hendrick and Canfield (2017), the study involved adolescents and young adults who indicated that responses aided positive results in promoting the African American women self-empowerment, skills building and HIV risk reduction practices like self-efficacy.

Individual Behavioral Change

Linking the past and recent studies, offering education, information as well as effective communication to the individuals in this community significantly helps in reducing the infection rates of STDs and HIV. As per Kelder, Hoelscher and Shegog (2017), through educating various individuals among the African Americans would offer critical information preventing the spread of these diseases. Furthermore, the information provided to the population would result in behavior change, as seen in most of the HIV prevention programs in the United States (Blair, 2017). When the community receives information, it creates awareness of the facts of the disease, such as means of transmission and prevention measures, which reduces the prevalence rates. Passing information and education to the target population could occur in many forms (Swanson, 2018). For instance, mass media offers information to the general public which teaches about STDs and HIV facts resulting in the promotion of the safety and healthy individuals’ behaviors (Jeffries IV, Sutton& Eke, 2017).  A study conducted in 38 countries indicates that 90% of education and information programs aimed at controlling STDs and HIV concentrated on offering correct information about the misconceptions of these diseases (Jeffries IV, Sutton & Eke, 2017). The mass education helps in creating HIV and STDs awareness and provides the risk of HIV infections, which leads to a change in high-risk behaviors and an increase in condom use, which lowers rates of HIV and STDs disease (CDC, 2020). Equally, a review of 49 research works that comprised 18 countries shows that mass media campaigns profoundly influences the individual level in changing behaviors among the African American populations. Crosby and DiClemente (2018) posit that, in the United States, small group and individuals ‘programs aimed at HIV and STD prevention experienced development over time since the onset of the epidemic. Such intervention changes the personal behaviors in African American communities in different ways based on education and information received (Kelder, Hoelscher & Shegog, 2017). For instance, projects targeting heterosexual men showed some positives effects based on the knowledge offered on such behaviors and its relationship with infection and prevention of HIV and STDs.

Community-Based Intervention

Different research works and scholars explain that SCT could get applied at the community level instead of the individuals and small groups, which changes the individuals’ behaviors risk to HIV and STDs infections. As per Darbes et al. (2018), the community programs comprise social networks, policy level, conducting outreach activities, school-based programs, social marketing, as well as condom promotions. Data from past and recent studies indicates that such programs play a significant role in African American communities in reducing the transmissibility and vulnerability of individuals to HIV and STDs (Herbst et al., 2007).  Equally, the approaches employ the SCT concepts, which change the African American community norms as well as their organizational system making the infected ones less dangerous to transmit to uninfected (Blair, 2017).  Working on the principles of the SCT, change in community norms, and culture results in reduced HIV risk due to critical information offered.  Moreover, policy levels in the United States significantly help in reducing the prevalence of HIV and STDs among African Americans (Kelder, Hoelscher & Shegog, 2017). For example, enforcing the use of a condom in brothels helps in dealing with community HIV and STDs risk. School-based programs for HIV and STDs interventions exits in almost every industrialized country like the United States (Crosby & DiClemente, 2018). Recent study conducted in New Jersey involving MSM as participants show that apart from the basic knowledge of the HIV and STDs offered in class, the school-based interventions comprise the peer activities skill-building and programs that aim at changing the cultural and social norms of the African American communities (Jeffries IV, Sutton & Eke, 2017). Based on SCT, such programs lead to enhanced self-efficacy resulting in safer sexual practices and modelling of healthy sexual behaviors.

Conclusion

To conclude, the social cognitive theory (SCT) plays a significant role in an intervention aimed at reducing the infection rates and prevalence of STDs and HIV among the African American population. SCT critically helps in providing the frameworks and understanding how individuals get shaped or change by their surroundings. Moreover, SCT operates based on its crucial components such as self-efficacy, expectancies and expectations, self-control, reinforcement, and observational learning. As a result, SCT plays an essential role in the intervention program, such as those cases of HIV and STDs among the African American communities. Equally, organizations employ behavioral theories as an intervention mechanism in dealing with the HIV and STDs epidemic among African Americans. The theoretical framework gets guided by the social norms, sexual communication, and the risk perception of the target population. Similarly, providing education, information, and effective communication to this community significantly helps in reducing the infection rates as well as the prevalence of HIV and STDs. Notably, mass media plays a crucial role in offering information to the public about STDs and HIV facts resulting in the promotion of safety and healthy individual’s behaviors. Furthermore, peer education programs change individuals’ sexual behavior that prevents HIV and STDs infections among African American communities. Moreover, community programs entail social networks, policy level, conducting outreach activities, school-based programs, social marketing, as well as condom promotions. Such programs reduce the transmissibility and vulnerability of individuals to HIV and STDs among the African American community.

References

Blair, A. E. (2017). HIV/AIDS Prevention in the United States: The Need for Structural-Level Interventions (Doctoral dissertation, Vanderbilt University).

CDC. (2020). HIV and African Americans | Race/Ethnicity | HIV by Group | HIV/AIDS | CDC. Retrieved 5 February 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/index.html

Crosby, R. A., & DiClemente, R. J. (2018). Applying Behavioral and Social Science Theory to HIV Prevention. Structural Interventions for HIV Prevention: Optimizing Strategies for Reducing New Infections and Improving Care, 13.

Darbes, L., Crepaz, N., Lyles, C., Kennedy, G., & Rutherford, G. (2008). The efficacy of behavioral interventions in reducing HIV risk behaviors and incident sexually transmitted diseases in heterosexual African Americans. AIDS (London, England), 22(10), 1177.

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Hart, T. A., Noor, S. W., Vernon, J. R., Antony, M. M., Gardner, S., & O’Cleirigh, C. (2019). Integrated Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety and HIV/STI Prevention for Gay and Bisexual Men: A Pilot Intervention Trial. Behavior Therapy.

Jeffries IV, W. L., Sutton, M. Y., & Eke, A. N. (2017). On the battlefield: the black church, public health, and the fight against HIV among African American gay and bisexual men. Journal of Urban Health, 94(3), 384-398.

Kelder, S. H., Hoelscher, D. M., & Shegog, R. (2017). Social Cognitive Theory socialto Health and Risk Messaging. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication.

Swanson, S. (2018). valuating Health Orientations: Medical Maximizers-Minimizers, Social Cognitive Theory, and Health-Protective Behaviors.

Hendrick, C. E., & Canfield, C. (2017). HIV Risk-Reduction Prevention Interventions Targeting African American Adolescent Women. Adolescent research review, 2(2), 131-149.

Herbst, J. H., Beeker, C., Mathew, A., McNally, T., Passin, W. F., Kay, L. S., … & Johnson, R. L. (2007). The effectiveness of individual-, group-, and community-level HIV behavioral risk-reduction interventions for adult men who have sex with men: a systematic review. American journal of preventive medicine, 32(4), 38-67.

Carillo, K. D. (2010, March). Social cognitive theory in is research–literature review, criticism, and research agenda. In International Conference on Information systems, Technology and Management (pp. 20-31). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

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