Social representations of HIV/AIDS in Johannesburg, South Africa and their bearing on risk-taking sexual behaviour

Considering the uniquely South African psychosocial context, where lay and expert responses to the AIDS pandemic have thwarted or improved efforts to contain the spread of HIV infection, this study sought to investigate how perceptions of risk and resulting risk-taking sexual behaviour, regarding HIV transmission and prevention, are mediated by the manner in which HIV is socially represented (as a means of human social communication). Thus, this article presents the findings of an exploratory South African study that engaged with the social representations of HIV/AIDS amongst undergraduate students from a large university in Johannesburg, South Africa, by highlighting the bearing of these social representations in shaping responses to the risk culture of the HIV pandemic. Thirty participants completed 13 open-ended items for ‘The Perceptions of Risk and Behaviours regarding HIV Questionnaire’, which were thematically analysed to produce social representation themes (such as HIV/AIDS being punishment for sexual immorality, AIDS as an evil perpetrator and the vulnerable ‘other’, to mention a few) that are used to create a base system of communication about HIV/AIDS, which are relied on when mediating responses to the assessed threat of HIV infection.