Objective: Trauma histories and symptoms of PTSD occur at very high rates in people with HIV and are associated with poor disease management and accelerated disease progression. The authors of this study examined the efficacy of a brief written trauma disclosure intervention on posttraumatic stress, depression, HIV-related physical symptoms, and…

Objective: Primary care may be an effective venue for delivering behavioral interventions for sexual safety among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM); however, few studies show efficacy for such an approach. We tested the efficacy of the Treatment Advocacy Program (TAP), a 4-session, primary-care-based, individual counseling intervention…

Objective: The "T"eaching, "R"aising, "A"nd "C"ommunicating with "K"ids (TRACK) program was a longitudinal pilot-trial intervention designed to assist mothers living with HIV (MLHs) to disclose their serostatus to their young children (age 6-12 years). Method: MLH and child dyads (N = 80 dyads) were recruited and randomized to intervention or…

Objective: Contingency management (CM) treatments are usually applied individually for drug abstinence, but CM can also be targeted toward health behaviors and implemented in groups. This study evaluated effects of a group-based CM intervention that focused on reinforcing health behaviors. Method: HIV-positive patients with cocaine or opioid use…

Criminally involved adolescents engage in high levels of risky sexual behavior and alcohol use, and alcohol use may contribute to lack of condom use. Detained adolescents (n = 484) were randomized to (1) a theory-based sexual risk reduction intervention (GPI), (2) the GPI condition with a group-based alcohol risk reduction motivational enhancement…

Objective: To examine the associations among mental health problems, maternal monitoring and permissiveness, mother-daughter communication and attachment, and sexual behaviors among African American girls receiving outpatient psychiatric care. Youths with mental health problems report higher rates of HIV-risk behavior than do their peers, and…

Objective: To examine the relationship between psychiatric disorders and sexual behaviors among adolescents receiving mental health treatment. Adolescents in mental health treatment have been found to have higher rates of HIV risk behavior than their peers, but data concerning the relationship between psychopathology and risk are inconsistent and…

This randomized clinical trial (N = 253) evaluated the efficacy of a theory-based intervention designed to reduce both alcohol use and incidence of unprotected sexual behaviors among HIV-positive men who have sex with men with alcohol use disorders. An integrated, manualized intervention, using both individual counseling and peer group…

HIV-prevention intervention effectiveness depends on understanding whether clients with highest need for HIV-prevention counseling accept it. With this objective, a field study with a high-risk community sample from the southeastern United States (N = 350) investigated whether initial knowledge about HIV, motivation to use condoms,…

Research in psychoneuroimmunology suggests that immunosuppression associated with perceived stress may contribute to disease progression in persons with HIV infection. While stress management interventions may enhance immune function, few alternative approaches have yet been tested. This randomized clinical trial was conducted to test effects of…

The relationship between posttraumatic growth (PTG; perceiving positive changes since diagnosis) and disease status, determined by changes in viral load and CD4 count over time, was examined among 412 people living with HIV. In controlled multiple regression models, PTG was not associated with disease status over time for the entire sample.…

This study tested the efficacy of behavioral treatments for alcohol use disorders (AUD) among men who have sex with men (MSM) and who are at risk for HIV transmission. HIV-negative MSM with current AUD (N = 198) were recruited, offered treatment focused on reducing drinking and HIV risk, and followed during treatment and 12 months posttreatment.…

Internalized heterosexism (IH), or the internalization of societal antihomosexual attitudes, has been consistently linked to depression and low self-esteem among gay men, and it has been inconclusively associated with substance use and sexual risk in gay and bisexual men. Using structural equation modeling, the authors tested a model framed in…

The present study evaluated the efficacy of Familias Unidas + Parent-Preadolescent Training for HIV Prevention (PATH), a Hispanic-specific, parent-centered intervention, in preventing adolescent substance use and unsafe sexual behavior. Two hundred sixty-six 8th-grade Hispanic adolescents and their primary caregivers were randomly assigned to 1 of…

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…