Psychological interventions to prevent HIV infection are urgently needed: New priorities for behavioral research in the second decade of AIDS.

Behavior change remains the only means for primary prevention of HIV disease. Psychology should take a leading role in efforts to curtail the epidemic, but has not contributed to HIV prevention at a level proportionate to the urgency of the crisis. The authors propose an updated agenda for behavioral research on AIDS-HIV prevention implementing accelerated community trials of promising behavior change models, conducting trials of community-level interventions on a large scale and focused on populations most vulnerable to HIV infections, establishing partnerships between HIV research and community service organizations, integrating efforts from across psychology disciplines to advance and refine HIV prevention interventions, and mobilizing interdisciplinary HIV prevention resources and communication mechanisms to rapidly translate research findings to community and public policy arenas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Earvin "Magic" Johnson's HIV serostatus disclosure: Effects on men's perceptions of AIDS.

The effects of celebrity self-disclosure of HIV seropositivity on perceptions of HIV and AIDS were investigated. AIDS-related interest and knowledge measures were collected from 468 men before and after basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson's self-disclosure of HIV seropositivity. Increased interest in AIDS paralleled media coverage of the announcement, with the most substantial effects occurring within 2 wks. Perceived impact of the disclosure was greatest among African-American men and men who had not previously known someone with HIV/AIDS. Celebrity self-disclosure appears to affect perceptions through mechanisms similar to those involved in personally knowing someone infected with HIV. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

HIV-AIDS Patients' Evaluation of Health Information on the Internet: The Digital Divide and Vulnerability to Fraudulent Claims.

Access to health information on the Internet has revolutionized how medical patients learn about their illnesses. Valuable information can be found online; however, many health Web sites contain inaccurate or misleading information. The authors surveyed 324 adults with HIV concerning their Internet use for obtaining health information. Health information found online was then rated for quality by participants and by medical professionals. Participants were less critical of health information found online than medical professionals and made smaller distinctions between high-quality and low-quality information. Assigning credibility to low-quality information was predicted by lower incomes and educational attainment, poorer reading comprehension, lower literacy levels, and irrational health beliefs. Results suggest that patients do not always evaluate online information critically and may be vulnerable to misinformation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental component analysis of a behavioral HIV–AIDS prevention intervention for inner-city women.

A component analysis of a behavioral HIV risk reduction intervention was conducted among 87 women recruited from an inner-city community. Women were randomly assigned to an intervention consisting of (a) sexual communication skills training, (b) self-management skills training, (c) a combination of sexual communication and self-management skills, or (d) HIV education and risk sensitization. Results showed that all 4 intervention conditions increased AIDS knowledge and intentions to reduce risk behaviors. Communication skills training resulted in higher rates of risk reduction conversations and risk refusals. However, the combined skills training condition showed the lowest rates of unprotected sexual intercourse at the 3-month follow-up. This study is the first to experimentally control HIV risk reduction elements in an analysis of a skills-based HIV prevention intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of a video-based motivational skills-building HIV risk-reduction intervention for inner-city African American men.

Interventions to reduce HIV risk behavior have shown promise but have demonstrated inconsistent effects with heterosexual men. This article reports a cognitive-behavioral HIV risk reduction intervention designed for heterosexually active African American men. Men (N?=?117) recruited from a public clinic were randomly assigned to either (a) a 6-hr video-based small group motivational-skills intervention, or (b) a 6-hr video-based contact-matched HIV education comparison group. Results showed men in the motivational-skills intervention reported lower rates of unprotected vaginal intercourse and higher rates of condom use at the 3-month follow-up. However, because of increased condom use in the comparison condition, differences between groups dissipated 6 months following the intervention. These findings are among the first to demonstrate effects from a motivational-skills intervention for reducing HIV risk in men who have sex with women using a model designed to facilitate transferring prevention technology to community settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors influencing the reporting of father-child sexual abuse: Study of licensed practicing psychologists.

Several studies have indicated that high proportions of practicing psychologists fail to report cases of suspected child sexual abuse despite their knowledge of mandatory reporting laws. We surveyed 279 practicing psychologists from two states, using a set of controlled vignettes. Results indicate that clinicians' decisions to report suspected sexual child abuse are affected by the accused father's admission or denial of abuse and by the clinician's expectation of what effect reporting would have on continued therapy. Results are discussed in the context of previous research and state mandatory reporting laws. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reporting laws, confidentiality, and clinical judgment: Reply to Ansell and Ross.

Addresses C. Ansell and H. Ross's (1990) comments on K. Pope and T. Bajt's (1988) survey of ethics among psychologists. Despite sharing Ansell and Ross's concern over limitations placed on clinical judgment, Kalichman states that justifying the disregard of laws for reporting child abuse is potentially dangerous for practitioners and their clients. Also, psychologists have an obligation to handle information legally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continued high-risk sex among HIV seropositive gay and bisexual men seeking HIV prevention services.

The authors examined HIV risk-related sexual behaviors in an ethnically diverse sample of HIV seropositive gay and bisexual men (N?=?86). Measures of sexual behavior, substance use, condom attitudes, behavior change intentions, and engagement in risk-reducing practices were completed. Thirty-nine percent of the men reported engaging in unprotected anal intercourse in the past 3 months. Unprotected anal intercourse was associated with using nitrite inhalants, sex partners who used substances before sex, and low intentions to change risk behavior. These results highlight the difficulties that people living with HIV infection face in maintaining a lifetime of safer sex and the necessity of integrating clinical and prevention interventions for these persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual sensation seeking: scale development and predicting AIDS-risk behavior among homosexually active men

Sensation seeking, the propensity to prefer exciting, optimal, and novel stimulation or arousal, is a potential mediating factor in sexual risk for human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV), the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, the most widely used measure of sensation seeking, the Sensation Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, & Zoob, 1964), contains numerous culturally outdated items and items that do not pertain to sexual behavior. In this study, 106 homosexually active men completed newly developed measures of sensation seeking related to sexual and nonsexual experiences, as well as a measure of sexual compulsivity. Results show that the new scales were internally consistent and time-stable. Additional analyses demonstrated convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity for these scales, showing them to be of use as mediating variables in models of high-risk sexual behavior. Implications for HIV prevention and behavior change are discussed.