Risk behaviors, self-efficacy, and AIDS prevention among adolescents

This study was conducted to investigate risk behaviors and AIDS-preventive variables in high school adolescents. One hundred fifty-two students in Grades 10 through 12 were administered an AIDS-related behavior questionnaire and the Attitudes Toward AIDS Scale-High School Version (ATAS-HS; Goh, 1992). The results indicated that use of alcohol was far more common than other risk behaviors among the respondents. Rates of sexual intercourse and intravenous drug use were significantly lower than those reported in other research. Self-efficacy was significantly related to AIDS-preventive behavioral intentions, perceived knowledge, and measured knowledge about AIDS. Because the AIDS-preventive variables functioned differently in their relationships to sexual practices, the correlations suggest a pattern of co-occurrence between specific behavior intentions and actual AIDS-preventive behaviors (i.e., sexual experience, use of condoms). In addition, significant gender and grade differences were found on selected risk behaviors and AIDS-preventive variables.     

Homeless youths and young adults in Los Angeles: prevalence of mental health problems and the relationship between mental health and substance abuse disorders

Although understanding of the subsistence patterns, service utilization, and HIV-risk behaviors of homeless youths and young adults in increasing, relatively little is known about the epidemiology of mental health problems in this group or the relationships between mental health problems and substance use. This study measured symptoms of depression, low self-esteem, ADHD, suicidality, self-injurious behavior (SIB), and drug and alcohol use disorder in a sample of homeless youth and young adults living in Hollywood, CA. Results indicated extremely high prevalences of mental health problems as compared with corresponding rates of mental health problems found among housed youths in previous studies. Prevalence of mental health problems differed by age and ethnicity. African Americans were at lower risk of suicidal thoughts and SIB than were those of other ethnicities. Older respondents and females were at increased risk of depressive symptoms, and younger respondents were at increased risk of SIB. Previous history of sexual abuse and/or assault was associated with increased risk of suicidality and SIB. Risk factors for drug abuse disorders included ethnicity other than African American, homelessness for 1 year or more, suicidality, SIB, depressive symptoms, and low self-esteem. Risk factors for alcohol abuse disorder included male gender, white ethnicity, homelessness for 1 year or more, suicidality, and SIB. Extremely high rates of mental health problems and substance abuse disorders in this sample suggest the need for street-based and nontraditional mental health services targeted toward these youths and young adults.     

Effectiveness of HIV interventions among women drug users

A prospective cohort study was conducted among chronic injecting and crack cocaine drug using women. The hypothesis tested was that participation in a standard-plus-innovative intervention was more likely to produce behavior change than participation in a standard intervention. Standardized intervention protocols and corresponding instruments were designed. Data were collected on drug and sex risk behaviors at baseline and six-month follow-up intervals. The level of behavioral change in two intervention arms--standard and a standard-plus-innovative intervention--was measured by composite sex risk and drug risk scores using the generalized estimating equation approach. The results show that on four risk measures the enhanced intervention was significantly associated with positive change in both drug use and sexual behavior: less frequent drug use, less drug use during sex, and more frequent condom use during particular frequencies for specific types of sexual activities. Public health interventions are effective when targeting specific risk behaviors through interventions tailored to prevent HIV and reduce risk behaviors among specific cultural and gender groups.     

Drug scene roles and HIV risk

AIMS: Drug scenes (social and spatial drug-using and drug-selling environments) have complex role structures. Many drug injectors earn money or drugs as drug or syringe sellers, hit doctors (people who help others to inject) commercial sex workers, or in other roles. This paper aims to measure "role behaviors" of drug injectors; describe which drug injectors are more likely to engage in such role behaviors; and to determine whether roles are related to elements of HIV risk. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of drug injectors. SETTING: Bushwick, a section of Brooklyn, New York, a major location for injection drug use and drug sales. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred and sixty-seven street-recruited drug injectors. MEASUREMENTS: Participants were interviewed about their roles, behaviors, socio-demographics and risk networks; sera were collected and assayed for HIV and hepatitis B core antibody. FINDINGS: Socio-demographic variables are related to role-holding in complex ways. Economic need is generally associated with engaging in drug-scene role behaviors. Holders of these roles are at greater behavioral and network risk for HIV and other blood-borne infections than are other drug injectors. They also engage in extensive communication with other drug users, including discussion of HIV risk reduction. CONCLUSION: Role behaviors can be measured in quantitative studies, and seem to be related to HIV risk. Role-holders may be strategic targets for risk-reduction campaigns. It seems feasible and advisable to measure drug scene role-holding in research on drug users.     

Career-Sustaining Behaviors, Satisfactions, and Stresses of Professional Psychologists.

A random sample of licensed psychologists from Illinois (N=286) responded to a survey about career-sustaining behaviors (CSBs) and about satisfactions and stresses they experience at work. The highest rated CSBs were spending time with partner/family, maintaining a balance between personal and professional lives, and maintaining a sense of humor. Overall, more satisfied respondents reported greater importance of CSBs. Female respondents reported significantly greater use of CSBs than male respondents and were more likely to endorse behaviors that were relational or educational in nature, such as participating in personal therapy, spending time with friends, discussing work frustrations with colleagues, seeking case consultation, maintaining regular contact with referral networks, participating in continuing-education programs, reflecting on positive experiences, and engaging in quiet leisure activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social network characteristics as mediators in the relationship between sexual abuse and HIV risk

Recent research suggests that sexual abuse may be a potent risk factor for engaging in HIV risk behaviors for women. This relationship is likely mediated by the long term sequelae of sexual abuse. One plausible causal pathway posits that specific social network characteristics increase HIV risk exposure opportunities. This is premised on the belief that previous sexual abuse predisposes some women to become members of risk networks characterized by deviant behaviors and that HIV risk occurs in the context of these networks. One hundred and thirty women opiate users were systematically recruited from methadone maintenance and syringe exchange programs in New York City. The women participated in a one hour interview and provided information on drug use and frequency, HIV drug and sex risk behaviors, social network characteristics, and sexual abuse histories. Univariate and logistic regression techniques were used to test the relationship between sexual abuse and increased HIV risk as mediated by social network characteristics. Previous sexual abuse was strongly related to all social network characteristics examined. Moreover, these network characteristics appeared to affect patterns of drug use in identifiable ways. Social isolation was the only network characteristic associated with both HIV drug and sex risk behaviors. However, although a history of sexual abuse was significantly associated with five of the seven specific HIV risk behaviors examined, the relationship between sexual abuse and HIV risk behaviors remained unchanged when social network characteristics were included in the statistical model. Overall, the results suggest that a sexual abuse experience or its aftermath influence behavior far into the future. However, the results of this study did not show social network characteristics mediating the relationship between sexual abuse and HIV risk. Rather, previous sexual abuse and social network characteristics appear to be independent contributors to HIV risk behaviors for women.     

Multiple sexual partners among U.S. adolescents and young adults

CONTEXT: Because many teenagers and young adults fail to use condoms correctly and consistently, the number of sexual partners they have is an important risk factor for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Identifying factors that are associated with having multiple partners can help in the design of disease interventions. METHODS: Data on 8,450 males and females aged 14-22 who participated in the 1992 Youth Risk Behavior Survey were used to examine the prevalence of and factors associated with young people's having multiple partners. RESULTS: In all, 63% of female respondents and 64% of males were sexually experienced. Among those who had had sex during the three months before the survey, 15% and 35%, respectively, had had two or more partners during that period. At each age, the majority of sexually experienced respondents had had more than one lifetime partner; between ages 14 and 21, the proportion who had had six or more rose from 8% to 31% among females and from 14% to 45% among males. In logistic regression analyses, alcohol use, illicit drug use and young age at first coitus were associated with increased odds that females had had two or more partners in the previous three months, and being married lowered the odds; black or Hispanic race or ethnicity, alcohol use and young age at first coitus increased the odds for males, and being married reduced the odds. As the number of reported alcohol-related behaviors increased, the adjusted proportion of respondents who had recently had multiple partners rose from 8% to 48% among females and from 23% to 61% among men. CONCLUSIONS: The strong association between alcohol use and having multiple sexual partners underscores the need to educate young people about the effects of alcohol on partner choice and the risk of infection with sexually transmitted diseases.     

Mood and HIV risk behavior among drug-dependent veterans.

Extends prior investigations of risk behaviors for contracting and transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among treatment-seeking drug abusers by analyzing the relationship between HIV risk behavior and drug use and psychopathology variables. A battery of tests related to knowledge about AIDS and semistructured interviews were administered to 170 patients (aged 21–59 yrs) at a Veterans Administration drug dependence treatment unit. Ss with high anxiety and depression scores reported engaging in significantly more HIV drug-risk behaviors. In terms of drug of choice, polydrug users did not report engaging in significantly more high-risk sexual behaviors than Ss abusing solely cocaine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tissue-specific repression of starvation and stress responses of the Neurospora crassa con-10 gene is mediated by RCO1

Abstract-This study presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of the AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention projects implemented as part of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Cooperative Agreement (CA), which began in 1990 and is currently ongoing. Participants in the CA were randomly assigned to one of two interventions: a NIDA/CA-developed standard intervention (SI); or the SI plus a site-specific enhanced intervention (EI). Analyses of drug use and needle-related risk behaviors were conducted among injection drug users (IDUs) in eight participating cities where follow-up rates of at least 60% were obtained (N=3,743). Results indicated that IDUs significantly reduced their needle-related risk behaviors following delivery of the interventions and that a substantial portion entered substance abuse treatment. However, there was relatively little to support the effectiveness of more expensive and involved enhanced interventions. A number of factors associated with increasing or maintaining high risk behaviors, including an HIV negative serostatus and a greater perceived chance of acquiring AIDS, were also observed. Continued outreach to drug injectors is recommended, as well as the development of new and creative interventions targeting individuals who are HIV negative and those who are aware of their high risk status but have not changed their behaviors in response to risk-reduction interventions.     

Perceived threat of illness and health protective behaviors in offspring of adults with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

Self-reported measures of perceived threat of illness, health protective behaviors, psychological well-being, and family modeling of health behaviors of 30 adults with a parental history of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were compared with responses from 29 adults with a parental history of hypertension and 30 adults with no parental history of chronic illness. The NIDDM risk group reported significantly more perceived threats of NIDDM and hypertension and more weight-control efforts than the controls did. Reports of the NIDDM risk respondents concerning physician screening, healthy diet, and exercise did not differ from reports of individuals without a family history of NIDDM. Perceived threat, psychological well-being, and family modeling did not correlate with health-protective behaviors. The findings suggest that offspring of adults diagnosed with NIDDM perceive themselves to be at risk of NIDDM and engage in health behaviors, such as weight control, to protect themselves from NIDDM onset.     

Cardiac effects of isoliquiritigenin

This paper examines the characteristics of youngsters in drug treatment who volunteer for AIDS testing in comparison to those who do not. HIV Antibodies testing was offered on a voluntary basis to a sample of 250 Puerto Rican youngsters enrolled in three ambulatory drug treatment centers in 1991. Sixty-six percent of the youngsters agreed to take the test. Male adolescents who volunteered reported fewer years of education and were more likely to have dropped-out of school. Consistent with research findings among adults, those adolescents at greater risk of HIV infection as measured by drug use and sexual behaviors were more likely to volunteer for on-site testing for HIV infection. Higher rates of alcohol use and marijuana use differentiated volunteers from those who did not. Among the sexual behaviors investigated, number of partners, engaging in less risk reduction practices, having a sexual partner who had used illicit drugs and using condoms to avoid STD's were found to be significantly higher in volunteers.     

Practice what we preach? HIV knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors of adolescents and adolescent peer educators

The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the knowledge, beliefs, and sexual behaviors of urban adolescents and adolescent peer educators, and (b) identify elements needed to design effective HIV/AIDS prevention programs for out-of-school youth. Thirty-three predominantly African American adolescents (female = 14; male = 19) between the ages of 14 and 24 in a large urban city including adolescent (n = 18) and adolescent peer educators (n = 15) participated. Paper-and-pencil questionnaire and focus-group interviewing methods were used. Adolescents and adolescent peer educators had a moderately high level of HIV knowledge, confidence in their ability to use condoms, and beliefs that condom use would not decrease sexual pleasure or imply infidelity. Both groups reported low perceptions of susceptibility of HIV infection. Engagement in sexual risk behavior was low, but was significantly higher among males. Although adolescent male peer educators engaged in a higher frequency of risk behaviors over time, they had a lower frequency of sexual risk behaviors in the past 2 months compared with male adolescents. Study findings showed that HIV prevention interventions need to include information about specific risk behaviors, such as using condoms for oral sex, and cleaning drug paraphernalia. Community-based and church programs, visible HIV prevention messages, specifically those aimed at increasing perceptions of HIV risk, and the development of condom-use skills were identified by adolescents and adolescent peer educators as relevant approaches to reduce HIV infection among this population.     

Relationships between leisure time physical activity for exercise and other health-related behaviors

In this article the relationships between physical activity for exercise and other health-related behaviors is studied. The data analyzed were collected during 1991 by telephone in Glasgow and Edinburgh and concern 2418 male and 3053 female respondents between 18 and 60 years of age. In the analysis, respondents who reported exercising less than once in the previous week were contrasted with respondents who reported exercising more often. Compared with respondents exercising less often, respondents who reported exercising more often reported being smokers and adding salt to their food significantly less often, and more often reported drinking alcohol, using low-fat spread and engaging in weight-losing behavior. No significant relation was found between physical activity for exercise and seat-belt use among males and blood pressure checking among males and females.     

HIV sex and drug risk behavior and behavior change in a national sample of injection drug and crack cocaine using women

This paper describes HIV sex and drug risk behavior and behavior change of injection drug and crack cocaine using women enrolled in a national multi-site Cooperative Agreement program. Baseline data on the 1,403 women who were randomly assigned to a two session intervention that was standardized across sites indicate that sex and drug risk behavior for becoming infected with HIV was considerable. Six-month post intervention follow-up data for the same sample of women show that significant reductions in sex and drug risk behavior were observed for the entire sample of women for the risk variables under study. Significant reductions were also demonstrated for various sub-groups of women enrolled in the study on most of the sex and drug risk variables. Given these findings, it appears that the standard intervention was effective in assisting drug using women reduce their behaviors that put them at risk of becoming infected with HIV. Further research in needed on the development and evaluation of HIV interventions that target specific risk behaviors and various HIV risk behavior profiles of women.     

Minority stress, masculinity, and social norms predicting gay men's health risk behaviors.

The authors examined the contributions of the minority stress model, traditional masculine gender roles, and perceived social norms in accounting for gay men's use of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and risky sexual practices. Three hundred fifteen gay men recruited from listserv communities completed measures assessing internalized homophobia, stigma, antigay physical attack, masculinity, and perceptions of normative health behaviors, along with health risk behaviors of alcohol use, illicit drug use, smoking, and high-risk sexual behaviors. Pearson correlations supported several hypotheses; social norms and masculinity variables were significantly related to health risk behaviors. Four multiple regression analyses indicated that masculinity and perceptions of social norms predicted health risk behaviors. Additionally, a significant interaction was found between minority stress and perceptions of social norms. The clinical implications of the findings, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress, expectancies, and vulnerability to substance abuse: A test of a model among homosexual men.

We hypothesize that specific attitudes or expectancies make people vulnerable to responding to stress via alcohol or drugs. This "stress-vulnerability" model was tested among homosexual men, who show elevated rates of substance abuse and have culturally specific stressors and vulnerability. Tension reduction expectancies of alcohol effects had a substantial effect on alcohol and marijuana/drug abuse, as did the use of bars as a social resource. Two stress variables—negative affectivity and discrimination attributable to sexual orientation—also had significant, though more moderate effects. Interactions of the vulnerability measures with the stress variables had significant effects on substance abuse beyond the main effects, supporting the central hypothesis. In a second analysis both simple consumption levels and "high-risk" styles of alcohol or drug use predicted alcohol or drug problems better among vulnerable than among nonvulnerable respondents. These findings strongly supported a general stress-vulnerability model of substance abuse and illustrated several important risk factors in homosexual culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal nostalgia, world view, memory, and emotionality

Batcho's 1995 Nostalgia Inventory was completed by 210 respondents, 88 males and 122 females, ranging in age from 5 to 79 years old. Subjects scoring high on the Nostalgia Inventory rated the past more favorably than did subjects scoring low on the inventory but did not differ in ratings of the present or future. High-scoring individuals rated themselves more emotional, with stronger memories, need for achievement, and preference for activities with other people, but not as less happy, risk or thrill seeking, religious, logical, easily bored, or expecting to succeed. In a second study, 113 undergraduates, 32 men and 81 women, completed measures of nostalgia, memory, and personality. High-scoring subjects showed no advantage in free recall over low-scoring subjects but recalled more people-oriented autobiographical memories. Individuals scoring high on nostalgia were no more optimistic, pessimistic, or negatively emotional but scored higher on a measure of emotional intensity. Personal nostalgia was distinguished from social-historical nostalgia and world view. Results were discussed with respect to major theoretical approaches.     

Self-injury, substance use, and associated risk factors in a multi-campus probability sample of college students.

This research examined two questions: (1) What is the prevalence of self-injurious behavior (SIB) among college students, overall and by gender, academic level, and sexual orientation? (2) To what extent is SIB associated with different forms of substance use and other risk behaviors? A probability sample of 5,689 students completed an Internet survey on self-injury, mental health, and substance use. Past-year prevalence of SIB was 14.3%, with undergraduates significantly more likely than graduate students to engage in SIB. Drug use and frequent binge drinking were associated with higher rates of SIB. Among those who engaged in any SIB, those who used drugs had higher depression scores, higher prevalence of cigarette smoking, and higher rates of binge eating. In a multiple logistic regression model predicting SIB, depression, cigarette smoking, gambling, and drug use were significant predictors. Information about those at risk for SIB is critical for the design of prevention and intervention efforts as colleges continue to grapple with risky behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predisposition to the fragile X syndrome in Jews of Tunisian descent is due to the absence of AGG interruptions on a rare Mediterranean haplotype

Lesbians may engage in behavior that places their health at risk and may delay health care and screening more than do their heterosexual counterparts. This article examines influences on lesbians' health risk factors and health-seeking behaviors. A statewide, self-administered survey of members of a lesbian community organization was performed. Univariate and bivariate analyses were calculated, and linear regression was used to examine models of health risks and health-seeking behavior. Of 324 respondents, 90% had disclosed sexual orientation to at least one provider, 22% reported seeking care without symptoms (preventive care), and 23% reported waiting until symptoms are at their worst or never seeking care. Young age, belief in the importance of lung cancer, difficulty of getting health care when needed, reliance on the partner for health support, and fewer male partners were all associated with greater health risk for lesbians. Difficulty obtaining health care, difficulty communicating with the primary care provider, discomfort in discussing depression, and degree of comfort in discussing menopause were all associated with a delay in seeking health care. Sensitive communication with lesbians and further identification of lesbians' specific barriers to care may improve health-seeking behavior and provide more opportunities for screening and risk factor counseling in this population.