HIV Testing Among Teens Attending Therapeutic Schools: Having a Personal Source of Information About HIV/AIDS Matters!

Being informed and using positive coping strategies are associated with engaging in health-promoting behaviors. We assessed whether the type of information source about HIV (personal or impersonal) and coping strategies (optimism, avoidance, or emotion-focused) are associated with HIV testing among adolescents attending therapeutic schools. Participants were 417 adolescents, ages 13-19, who attended one of 20 therapeutic day schools for emotionally/behaviorally disordered youth in two US cities (Providence, RI and Chicago, IL) and completed a baseline assessment for an HIV prevention study.

Sex differences and HIV risk behaviors: the interaction between the experience of multiple types of abuse and self-restraint on HIV risk behaviors.

Adolescents with abuse histories have been shown to be at increased risk to acquire human immunodeficiency virus and sexually transmitted infections. In addition, teens with lower levels of self-restraint or higher levels of distress, such as those with psychiatric concerns, have also demonstrated increased sexual risk behaviors. This study explored sex differences in sexual risk behaviors among a sample of adolescents in a therapeutic/alternative high school setting.

African American adolescents meeting sex partners online: closing the digital research divide in STI/HIV prevention.

Minority adolescents are affected disproportionately by HIV and STIs, and the Internet is a popular venue to meet sex partners. Little is known about the risks of this behavior for minority adolescents. The majority of studies that have examined sexual risk behavior online or STI/HIV prevention programs online have been among adult MSM.

Blocking the benefit of group-based HIV-prevention efforts during adolescence: the problem of HIV-related stigma.

HIV-related stigma has been shown to impede HIV-antibody testing and safer sexual practices in adults. Less is known about its effects on prevention programs among at-risk youth. This study examined the longitudinal relationships between HIV-stigma and HIV-knowledge following completion of a validated group-based intervention.

African American adolescents and new media: associations with HIV/STI risk behavior and psychosocial variables.

Objectives: Cell phones and online media are used frequently but we know little about their use among African American adolescents. This study examines the frequency of such use and its relationship to psychosocial variables and STI/HIV risk behavior.

Setting/participants: 1,518 African American, aged 13-18 years, from 2 Northeast US cities (Providence, RI; Syracuse, NY) and 2 Southeast US cities (Columbia, SC; Macon, GA), were assessed from 2008-2009.

Prospective analysis of the transition to sexual experience and changes in sexual self-esteem among adolescents attending therapeutic schools.

Given increased sexual risk-taking among youth with mental health problems, this study sought to understand the developmental trajectory of sexual self-esteem (SSE) among this vulnerable population and how it is impacted by sexual experiences. Participants were 185 adolescents who attended therapeutic/alternative schools in southern New England. Changes in five domains of SSE identified by Zeanah and Schwarz (1996) were examined across adolescents who either: 1) were sexually active at baseline, 2) transitioned to activity during the study, and 3) remained inexperienced at follow-up.

Military youth and the deployment cycle: emotional health consequences and recommendations for intervention.

The United States military force includes over 2.2 million volunteer service members. Three out of five service members who are deployed or are preparing for deployment have spouses and/or children.

Who accepts a rapid HIV antibody test? The role of race/ethnicity and HIV risk behavior among community adolescents.

Purpose: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend routine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening in health care settings for all individuals aged 13-64 years; however, overall testing rates among adolescents still continue to remain low. This study examined factors related to the acceptance of HIV testing among an at-risk sample of ethnically/racially diverse community adolescents.

Methods: Adolescents aged 15-21 (N = 81) years were recruited from community-based youth organizations to complete HIV risk assessment surveys.

HIV knowledge and its contribution to sexual health behaviors of low-income African American adolescents.

Objectives: Although many factors contribute to racial disparities in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS among young African Americans, knowledge is a particularly modifiable factor. However, little information has been published about the current HIV knowledge of African American teens or to what extent knowledge independently contributes to their sexual behavior and health. This study aimed to describe the level of knowledge among this at-risk population and determine whether knowledge contributes to variance in sexual behavior and health beyond that of sociodemographic and psychological factors.

Prevalence and correlates of HIV testing among sexually active African American adolescents in 4 US cities.

Background: Routine HIV testing is recommended for all adolescents ages 13 years and older. This study aims to report the prevalence of HIV testing among black adolescents, describe characteristics of adolescents who have been tested, and identify potentially modifiable factors associated with greater likelihood of testing across gender.

Methods: Black adolescents ages 13 to 18 were recruited from community-based outreach in 4 US cities.

Ethnic identity, self-esteem, and perceived efficacy as mediators of the relation of supportive parenting to psychosocial outcomes among urban adolescents.

The present study examined the direct and indirect relationships among supportive parenting, ethnic identity, self-esteem, perceived efficacy, and psychological adjustment in an urban sample of 133 African American (M age=16.37) and 110 European American (M age=16.43) adolescents.