Cognitive-behavioral intervention to reduce African American adolescents' risk for HIV infection.
Two hundred forty-six African American adolescents were randomly assigned to an educational program or an 8-week intervention that combined education with behavior skills training including correct condom use, sexual assertion, refusal, information provision, self-management, problem solving, and risk recognition. Skill-trained participants (a) reduced unprotected intercourse, (b) increased condom-protected intercourse, and (c) displayed increased behavioral skills to a greater extent than participants who received information alone. The patterns of change differed by gender. Risk reduction was maintained 1 year later for skill-trained youths. It was found that 31.1% of youths in the education program who were abstinent at baseline had initiated sexual activity 1 year later, whereas only 11.5% of skills training participants were sexually active. The results indicate that youths who were equipped with information and specific skills lowered their risk to a greater degree, maintained risk reduction changes better, and deferred the onset of sexual activity to a greater extent than youths who received information alone.
St Lawrence
J S
JS
Community Health Program, Jackson State University, Mississippi 39217-0105, USA.
Brasfield
T L
TL
Jefferson
K W
KW
Alleyne
E
E
O'Bannon
R E
RE
Shirley
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D017280:Condoms; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000635:transmission; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D010379:Peer Group; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012736:Sex Education