COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION TO REDUCE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS RISK FOR HIV-INFECTION

Two hundred forty-six African American adolescents were randomly assig ned 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, pro blem solving, and risk recognition. Skill-trained participants (a) red uced unprotected intercourse, (b) increased condom-protected intercour se, and (c) displayed increased behavioral skills to a greater extent than participants who received information alone. The patterns of chan ge differed by gender. Risk reduction was maintained 1 year later for skill-trained youths. It was found that 31.1% of youths in the educati on program who were abstinent at baseline had initiated sexual activit y 1 year later, whereas only 11.5% of skills training participants wer e sexually active. The results indicate that youths who were equipped with information and specific skills lowered their risk to a greater d egree, maintained risk reduction changes better, and deferred the onse t of sexual activity to a greater extent than youths who received info rmation alone.