EFFECTIVENESS OF THE 40 ADOLESCENT AIDS-RISK REDUCTION INTERVENTIONS - A QUANTITATIVE REVIEW

Objective: (1) To review evaluations of Acquired Immunodeficiency Synd rome (AIDS) prevention interventions targeting adolescents to determin e whether these efforts have been effective in reducing risk behaviors . (2) To examine the relation between intervention design issues and o utcomes measures. Method: A systematic review of five electronic datab ases and hand-searches of 11 journals, were undertaken for articles pu blished from January 1983 through November 1995 that reported evaluati ons of adolescent AIDS risk-reduction interventions conducted in the U nited States. Outcomes examined include: improved attitudes about AIDS risk and protective behaviors, increased intention to abstain from se xual intercourse or to use condoms, and reduced sexual risk behaviors. Results: Forty studies that met preestablished inclusion criteria wer e found. For each outcome assessed, a majority of studies found a posi tive intervention impact (88% of studies assessing changes in knowledg e; 58% changes in attitude, 60% changes in intention to use condoms, 7 3% in condom use, and 64% in decreasing number of sexual partners). In terventions that demonstrated an increase in intention to use a condom were significantly more likely to be theory-based than those that did not show any significant changes in intention (100% vs. 0%, p = .048) . Interventions that increased condom use and decreased the number of sexual partners were longer in duration than those that did not improv e these outcomes. Conclusions: AIDS risk reduction interventions can b e effective in improving knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentio ns and in reducing risk practices. The positive relationship between i mproved outcomes and several elements of intervention design underscor es the need for increased focus on intervention design in future studi es. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1997.