title: Color It Real: A Program to Increase Condom Use and Reduce Substance Abuse and Perceived Stress.
abstract: Few interventions have targeted perceived stress as a co-occurring construct central to substance use and subsequent HIV/AIDS risk reduction among African American urban young adults. The Color It Real Program was a seven session, weekly administered age-specific and culturally-tailored intervention designed to provide substance abuse and HIV education and reduce perceived stress among African Americans ages 18 to 24 in Atlanta, GA. Effectiveness was assessed through a quasi-experimental study design that consisted of intervention (n = 122) and comparison (n = 70) groups completing a pre- and post-intervention survey. A series of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests were used to assess pre- to post-intervention changes between study groups. For intervention participants, perceived stress levels were significantly reduced by the end of the intervention (t(70) = 2.38, p = 0.020), condom use at last sexual encounter significantly increased (F = 4.43, p = 0.0360), intervention participants were significantly less likely to drink five or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting (F = 5.10, p = 0.0245), and to use clean needles when injecting the drug (F = 36.99, p = 0.0001). This study is among the first of its kind to incorporate stress management as an integral approach to HIV/SA prevention. The program has implications for the design of other community-based, holistic approaches to addressing substance use and risky behaviors for young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. tzellner@msm.edu.
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zellner
authors.affiliation: Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, 2545 Benjamin E Mays Drive, Atlanta, GA 30311, USA. jt@wholistic1.com.
authors.forename: Jennie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trotter
authors.affiliation: Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, 2545 Benjamin E Mays Drive, Atlanta, GA 30311, USA. skl@wholistic1.com.
authors.forename: Shelia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lenoir
authors.affiliation: Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, 2545 Benjamin E Mays Drive, Atlanta, GA 30311, USA. kelvinwalston@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Kelvin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Walston
authors.affiliation: Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, 2545 Benjamin E Mays Drive, Atlanta, GA 30311, USA. ldiamennaa@aol.com.
authors.forename: L'dia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Men-Na'a
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. takintobi@msm.edu.
authors.forename: Tabia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Henry-Akintobi
authors.affiliation: McKing Consulting Corporation, 2900 Chamblee Tucker Road, Building 10, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. amiller@msm.edu.
authors.forename: Assia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: African Americans; HIV prevention; stress; substance abuse; young adults