Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS

Research Findings from September, 2001 Director's Report

This section lists selected summaries from NIDA funded research projects that investigate youth drug abuse and HIV/AIDS. The summaries provided were selected from recent issues of the Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. For a more comprehensive listing of NIDA funded projects see the Director's Report.

Improving the Quality of Life Among Young People Living with HIV

A three-module intervention was designed to address the multiple needs of young persons living with HIV (YPLH): (1) Staying Healthy, (2) Acting Safe, and (3) Being Together. YPLH from three cities were assigned by small cohort to either an Immediate Intervention Condition or a Control Condition. Building on the positive effects of the Staying Healthy and Acting Safe Modules, this paper reports the effects of the Being Together Module, an eight-session cognitive-behavioral intervention aimed at improving YPLHs quality of life. The YPLH (n=104) were aged 14-23 (M=21.03); 73% were male; most were Latino (43%) or African American (24%). YPLH in the Immediate Intervention Condition were significantly less emotionally distressed on multiple indices than those in the Control Condition, and those who attended the intervention showed decreasing emotional distress even when controlling for HIV symptomatology. HIV preventive interventions must promote emotional well-being, as well as reduce risk acts and promote health behaviors. Rotheram-Borus, M.J., Murphy, D.A., Wight, R.G., Lee, M.B., Lightfoot, M., Swendeman, D., Birnbaum, J.M., and Wright, W. Improving the Quality of Life Among Young People Living with HIV. Evaluation and Program Planning, 24, pp. 227-237, 2001.

Gender Differences in HIV-related Sexual Risk Behavior among Urban African American Youth: a Multivariate Approach

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use during sexual encounters, sexual partner's age, perceived HIV risk and perceived condom effectiveness were studied among 388 sexually active African American youth. Cluster analysis of condom use, number of partners, and frequency of sexual intercourse identified four groups: low risk, monogamy strategy, condom strategy, and high risk. Low-risk youth used condoms consistently and had few partners. High-risk youth used condoms inconsistently with many partners. Monogamy strategy youth used condoms inconsistently but had few partners. Condom strategy youth used condoms consistently with a moderate number of partners. The high-risk group included more males and the monogamy group included more females. High-risk males reported more AOD use during sexual activity than all females, and low-risk or condom strategy males. Females had older partners, rated condoms as less effective and perceived lower HIV/AIDS risk than males. Results suggest differential HIV risk mechanisms by gender. Implications for gender-specific HIV prevention are discussed. Newman, P.A., and Zimmerman, M.A. Gender Differences in HIV-related Sexual Risk Behavior among Urban African American Youth: A Multivariate Approach. AIDS Educ Prev,12(4), pp. 308-325, 2000.

Adolescent Problem Behavior by Observed Psychopathology

This study examines adult reports of externalizing and internalizing psychopathology at home and school in a sample of 224 high-risk adolescent boys and girls (average age 12 years). Four groups of young adolescents were defined, based on the consistency of the teacher and parent CBCL reports: normal, internalizing, externalizing, and co-morbid. Group comparisons revealed the co-morbid and externalizing only groups were more engaged in a deviant peer group and were observed in higher levels of deviancy training with their friends, compared to the other groups. In general, elevated levels of arrest, drug use, and sexual promiscuity were associated with cross-setting consistency in externalizing disorders. Co-morbid youth, however, showed the highest levels of sexual promiscuity in middle adolescence, compared to all other groups. These findings are consistent with a developmental account of adolescent maladjustment and suggest that emotional disturbance in early adolescence might exacerbate youth vulnerability, especially to deviancy training within friendships. Dishion, T.J. Cross-setting Consistency in Early Adolescent Psychopathology: Deviant Friendships and Problem Behavior Sequelae. Journal of Personality, 68(6), pp. 1109-1126, 2000.