Sexual Interactions and HIV Risk: New Conceptual Perspectives in European Research [Paperback]

How sexual risk is negotiated betwen partners is an area of considerable theoretical interest, with the dominant models of analysis focusing on individual decisions to engage in sexual behaviour and relying on rational decision-making. This work, based on the findings from work coordinated by the Centre d'Etudes Sociologiques in Brussels, offers a social critique of the theories and perspectives which have currently been brought to bear in the study of sexual risk behaviour and HIV. Leading European researchers offer a conceptual framework for analysis based on sexual interactions and their social context. The practical relevance of new perspectives on sexual behaviour in the context of HIV/AIDS prevention is also discussed.This work examines the theories and perspectives involved in the study of sexual risk behaviour and HIV. It provides a framework for analysis based on sexual interactions and their social context.Part 1 New Conceptual Perspectives: Understanding HIV-Related Risk Behaviour; Towards an Alternative Model of Sexual Behaviour; Rationality and Preventive Norms; Ambivalence in the Social Discourse on AIDS; Social Network and Normative Tensions. Part 2 Operationalising Theories for HIV/AIDS Prevention: Social Interaction and Risk-Related Behaviour; The Rational and the Non-Rational; New Perspectives for HIV/AIDS Prevention.Mitchell Cohen, Gustavo Guizzardi, Dominique Hausser, Luc Van CampenhoudtUS? Selection and editorial material copyright Luc Van Campenhoudt, Mitchell Cohen, Gustavo Guizzardi and Dominique Hausser, 1997