REDUCING AIDS RISKS AMONG DUALLY DISORDERED ADULTS

Professional social workers am called on to assist many vulnerable cli ent populations. One such group consists of adults with coexisting sub stance use and mental disorders who are at risk for HIV infection. Thi s article presents an evaluation of a social group work intervention d esigned to help dually disordered adults change sexual behaviors that increase their risk of HIV infection. Thirty clients attending a day t reatment program for dually disordered adults agreed to participate in an AIDS awareness and prevention group. Using a nonequivalent control group evaluation design, clients were systematically assigned to eith er the first cycle of the group or to a waiting list. Findings demonst rated that, compared to persons on the waiting list, clients who recei ved the preventive intervention improved their understanding of correc t condom use, used condoms more often, reduced risky sexual practices, and were more assertive in sexual encounters. Behavioral changes were attributable to group involvement and not the clients' pregroup chara cteristics. This was a limited pilot evaluation. The results, however, should encourage social workers developing AIDS preventive interventi ons for a particularly vulnerable client population.