of Work:Low openness to experience and defensive denial were examined as determinants of denial of risk for contracting HIV among 280 individuals from a rural, Southern population at high risk for HIV infection. They completed the NEO-PI-R; and questionnaires regarding frequency of condom use; history of substance use, STDs and risky sexual practices; a statement concerning the likelihood that current HIV test result would be negative; and HIV knowledge items. Controlling for differences in risk behavior history, individuals who denied any perceived risk of testing HIV positive in the presence of unsafe sex, the denial group (32%), were compared with those who acknowledge some risk, the acceptance group (68%). Consistent with previous research linking defensive denial to low Openness to Experience, the denial group had significantly lower scores than the acceptance group on the Openness domain score and the Openness facets of Fantasy, Aesthetics, and Feelings. A substantial portion of individuals in this sample reported engaging in unsafe sex despite sufficient knowledge of the risks involved in this behavior and the protective potential of condom usage, and almost one third of these individuals denied any risk for contracting HIV. Personality characteristics in general, and Openness in particular, emerged as the strongest predictors of denial of risk in this high-risk population. Efforts to relate basic research on personality to applications in clinical psychology and studies of the relation of personality to physical health will continue. - NEO-PI-R, HIV risk, openness to experience, defensive denial, risk behavior - Human Subjects: Interview, Questionaires, or Surveys Only
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