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Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR): human immunodeficiency virus prevention in alternative/therapeutic schools.

ABSTRACT: To evaluate the effectiveness of Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR), a 14-session HIV-prevention program for adolescents at alternative/therapeutic schools. Because these youth frequently have difficulties with emotions and cognitions, it was designed to improve sexuality-specific affect management and cognitive monitoring, as well as HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. It was hypothesized that STAR would lead to a decrease in sexual risk and improved HIV knowledge and attitudes.Fourteen schools were randomly assigned by year either to the STAR intervention or a brief educational program. Schools received the alternate intervention the following year. A total of 185 adolescents in 29 cohorts (groups) participated in the interventions. Assessment of sexual behavior, knowledge and attitudes with audio computer-assisted self-interviews occurred at 3, 6, and 9 months post intervention.Hierarchical linear model (HLM) analyses found that adolescents in the STAR intervention reported a significantly greater decrease (p < .05) in the Sexual Risk Index than youth in the control group over the 6 months post intervention and similar improvements in the HIV Knowledge Scale and the Condom Use Self Efficacy Scale. There were no group differences between 6 and 9 months post intervention.This STAR intervention for youth in alternative schools was associated with decreased sexual risk for 6 months after the intervention. These data suggest that intervention strategies that target cognitions and affect within a sexual context might be usefully applied to improving sexual behavior but may need to be reinforced over time. Clinical trial registration information--HIV, Abuse, and Psychiatric Disorders Among Youth; http://clinicaltrials.gov; NCT00603369.

SUBMITTER: Brown LK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3185294 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR): human immunodeficiency virus prevention in alternative/therapeutic schools.

Brown Larry K LK Nugent Nicole R NR Houck Christopher D CD Lescano Celia M CM Whiteley Laura B LB Barker David D Viau Lisa L Zlotnick Caron C

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 20110827 10

<h4>Objective</h4>To evaluate the effectiveness of Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR), a 14-session HIV-prevention program for adolescents at alternative/therapeutic schools. Because these youth frequently have difficulties with emotions and cognitions, it was designed to improve sexuality-specific affect management and cognitive monitoring, as well as HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. It was hypothesized that STAR would lead to a decrease in sexual risk and improved HIV knowledge and ...[more]

PMID: 21961780

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Dataset Information

Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR): human immunodeficiency virus prevention in alternative/therapeutic schools.

Publications

Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR): human immunodeficiency virus prevention in alternative/therapeutic schools.

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