Risk taking and HIV/AIDS among young people in Cameroon: Prediction of vulnerability using the adolescent Risk-Taking Questionnaire

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Adolescent Risk-Taking Questionnaires (ARQ) (Gullone, Moore, Moss, & Boyd, 2000) with Cameroon adolescents, and to evaluate the measure as a screening device for those at risk of HIV/AIDS. Participants were 234 adolescents (79 boys, 155 girls) attending schools in Cameroon (mean age 13.6 years). The ARQ scale items, minus the thrill-seeking items (assessed as culturally inappropriate), formed conceptually meaningful factors. Risk behavior and risk belief subscales showed evidence of reliability and validity. The scale items successfully discriminated between HIV positive and HIV negative boys (but not girls). Further work is necessary on both the cultural sensitivity of the scales and issues of social desirability.