School social workers' attitudes towards students with HIV/AIDS

This study investigated the attitudes of school social workers toward children with HIV/AIDS. The literature suggests that attendance at professional workshops on HIV/AIDS, and exposure to people with HIV/AIDS is positively related to attitude. The sample consisted of 24 school social workers from a large urban school district in the state of New York.; Attitude was measured by the sum of the attitude score of the school social workers on the School Professionals Attitude Towards AIDS (SPATA) instrument, a self report questionnaire. Attendance at professional workshops and exposure to persons with HIV/AIDS was measured by the participants' self-report responses on the SPATA. The independent sample t test and multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses.; The first hypotheses predicted that school social workers attendance at professional workshops on HIV/AIDS will be positively related to attitude as measured by the School Professionals' Attitude Towards AIDS Instrument. This hypothesis was not supported by the study findings. Attendance at professional workshops was not found to account for any significant variance in the attitude score of the school social workers as measured by the SPATA.; The second hypotheses predicted that exposure to persons with HIV/AIDS will be positively related to attitude as measured by the SPATA. This Hypothesis was supported by the results. Significant differences in the attitude score of the school social workers who have and have not had exposure to people with HIV/AIDS were found. Those with exposure had a significantly higher mean attitude score than those school social workers without exposure to persons with HIV/AIDS.; Implications for social work practice, policy, and education were discovered through this study. Social workers have a vital role in providing social services and other services to people with HIV/AIDS. The literature suggested that professional workshops and trainings support the need for continued education, as social workers that had greater knowledge reported higher levels of comfort in providing services to people with HIV/AIDS. Professional workshops and trainings should not only address factual information, but include knowledge of the disease, the identification of prejudices, biases and attitudes with emphasis of prevention and transmission is recommended. The literature also suggest that exposure to people with HIV/AIDS significantly impacts attitude and can result in a reduction of negative attitudes and an increase in more positive attitudes. The information gleaned from this study can contribute to the development and implementation of future educational opportunities for social workers related to HIV/AIDS by making them more aware of their own beliefs and attitudes. It is hoped that as a result of this study social workers will continue to advocate for public policy that encourages AIDS education, policies that do not perpetuate prejudice and policies and programs that meet the special needs of clients with HIV/AIDS.