AN INTERVENTION FOR CHANGING HIGH-RISK HIV BEHAVIORS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN DRUG-DEPENDENT WOMEN

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of an AIDS edu cation intervention for methadone-dependent, African American women. T he women were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 107) or control ( n = 97) group. The experimental group participated in a peer counselin g and leadership training program conducted by two experienced nurse c ounselors over an 8-week period, followed by 8 weeks of reinforcement. The program was designed to reduce AIDS high-risk sexual behavior, in crease self-esteem, decrease depressive affect, and increase the women 's community-based AIDS prevention communication activities. A total o f 130 women completed all phases of the study, including longitudinal Posttests at 2, 4, and 7 months after enrollment. Compared to the cont rol group, there were statistically significant differences in three o f the outcomes for the experimental group: The experimental group repo rted an increased number of safer sexual behaviors (p =.029), showed d ecreases in depression (p =.001), and reported engaging in more AIDS-r elated, community-based communication activities regarding prevention (p =.005). (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.