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)     

Health information on the Internet and people living with HIV/AIDS: Information evaluation and coping styles.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 26(5) of Health Psychology (see record 2007-13009-005). Table 1 mistakenly reported that the correlation between total Internet use and gender was r = .14, which, given the coding for gender, would be interpreted as women using the Internet more than men. However, as correctly stated in the text and indicated throughout the rest of the article, men used the Internet significantly more than women. The correct correlation between total Internet use and gender in Table 1 should therefore be r = .14.] Individuals who seek information on the Internet to cope with chronic illness may be vulnerable to misinformation and unfounded claims. This study examined the association between health-related coping and the evaluation of health information. Men (n = 347) and women (n = 72) who were living with HIV/AIDS and reported currently using the Internet completed measures assessing their Internet use. Health Web sites downloaded from the Internet were also rated for quality of information. HIV-positive adults commonly used the Internet to find health information (66%) and to learn about clinical trials (25%); they also talked to their physicians about information found online (24%). In a multivariate analysis, assigning higher credibility to unfounded Internet information was predicted by lower incomes, less education, and avoidant coping styles. People who cope by avoiding health information may be vulnerable to misinformation and unfounded claims that are commonly encountered on the Internet. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensation seeking, alcohol use, and sexual behaviors among sexually transmitted infection clinic patients in Cape Town, South Africa.

Alcohol use is associated with risks for HIV/AIDS. The association between alcohol and sexual risk may be accounted for by sensation seeking personality. However, sensation seeking in relation to substance use and HIV risk has not been examined in Africa. In this study, 292 men and 219 women receiving sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnostic and treatment services in Cape Town, South Africa, completed anonymous behavioral surveys. Structural modeling was used to test a model of alcohol use and sensation seeking in relation to sexual risk behaviors. Results showed that sensation seeking and alcohol use in sexual contexts were related to HIV risks, controlling for gender and marital status. The association between sensation seeking and HIV risk was partly accounted for by alcohol use in proximity to sex. In contrast to studies conducted in the United States, sensation seeking was not related to alcohol-sex outcome expectancies. These findings suggest that alcohol use is an important HIV transmission risk factor for many STI clinic patients and that interventions for individuals who are characterized as sensation seekers are urgently needed in South Africa. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in HIV treatment beliefs and sexual risk behaviors among gay and bisexual men, 1997-2005.

Objective: Beliefs about HIV treatment effectiveness and the impact of HIV treatments on HIV transmission risks were initially related to sexual risk-taking in the late 1990s when multidrug HIV treatments first became available. This study examined changes in beliefs about the effects of HIV treatment for preventing HIV transmission and their association to sexual risk behaviors between the years 1997 and 2005. Design: Anonymous surveys were administered to a convenience sample of gay and bisexual men attending a large community event in Atlanta, Georgia in 1997 (N = 498) and again at the same community event in 2005 (N = 448). Analyses were performed for men living with HIV/AIDS and for men who have not been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Main Outcome Measures: Rates of unprotected anal intercourse in the previous 3 months. Results: There were significant increases in high-risk sexual practices that coincided with increased beliefs that HIV treatments can reduce the chance of transmitting HIV. However, optimistic beliefs about the health benefits of HIV treatments decreased over the 8 years and were not related to risk behaviors. Conclusions: Beliefs about how HIV treatments impact HIV infectiousness remain associated with HIV transmission risk behavior and interventions targeting at-risk as well as HIV-positive men who have sex with men must directly address these beliefs and perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internet-based health information consumer skills intervention for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Medical information can improve health, and there is an enormous amount of health information available on the Internet. A randomized clinical trial tested the effectiveness of an intervention based on social- cognitive theory to improve information use among people living with HIV/AIDS. Men and women (N = 448) were placed in either (a) an 8-session intervention that focused on Internet information consumer skills or (b) a time-matched support group and were followed to 9 months postintervention. The Internet skills group demonstrated greater Internet use for health, information coping, and social support compared with the control group. The authors conclude that people with HIV infection may benefit from increased access to health information on the Internet and that vulnerability to misinformation and fraud can be reduced through behavioral interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

AIDS treatment advances and behavioral prevention setbacks: Preliminary assessment of reduced perceived threat of HIV–AIDS.

Recent advances in AIDS treatment have brought renewed optimism for prolonging the lives of those infected with HIV. This article examined beliefs about how new treatments may reduce HIV transmission risk among 298 HIV-negative gay and bisexual men attending a gay pride festival. Results from an anonymous survey showed that men who practiced unprotected anal intercourse as the receptive partner (UAR intercourse) were younger, less well educated, and more likely to believe that it is safe to have UAR intercourse with an HIV-positive man who has an undetectable viral load and that new treatments for HIV relieve their worries about unsafe sex. As HIV treatments continue to advance, new challenges for HIV prevention will likely emerge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)