Sexual Behavior
Conditions
Keywords
abuse, sexual behavior, sexual risk reduction, behavioral intervention
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate an HIV risk reduction intervention for women with a history of abuse.
Detailed description
The purpose of the proposed research is to pilot test an innovative, theoretically-guided sexual risk reduction intervention for women with a history of abuse. T intervention builds on previous findings suggesting that it is important to address the psychological consequences of abuse, as well as the typical antecedents of sexual risk behavior. To inform intervention development, women who reported a history of abuse were recruited to participate in key informant interviews. Based on interview findings and guided by theory and empirical precedent, a novel sexual risk reduction intervention was developed and refined. The intervention will be pilot tested with 80 women recruited from a publicly-funded clinic who report a history of abuse and current sexual risk behavior. These women will complete a computerized survey to assess abuse, adult sexual risk behavior, HIV-related information, safer sex motivation, behavioral skills, interpersonal trust, guilt, and powerlessness. Behavioral skills will also be assessed through role-plays and simulation scenarios. Women will be randomly assigned to the novel intervention or to a structurally equivalent intervention focused only on the psychological antecedents of sexual risk behavior. Three months after intervention completion, women will return to complete computerized interviews and behavioral skills assessments. The long-term goal of this research is to develop a feasible and effective sexual risk reduction intervention for women who have a history of abuse.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALAbuse-focused intervention
BEHAVIORALSexual behavior-focused intervention
Sponsors
University of Rochester
The Miriam Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* history of abuse * current sexual risk behavior
Exclusion criteria
* less than age 18 * impaired mentally * do not speak English * severely depressed or suicidal * HIV+
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| change in number of sexual partners in the past 3 months | baseline and 3 months | at baseline and at 3 months post intervention, participants will respond to the question, How many sexual partners have you had in the past 3 months?, assessed by computerized survey |
| change in number of episodes of unprotected sex in the past 3 months | baseline and 3 months | at baseline and at 3 months post intervention, participants will report (a) the number of times they had sex with a primary partner in the past 3 months (b) out of the number of sex episodes with a primary partner in the past 3 months, how many times a condom was used; (c) the number of times they had sex with non-primary partners in the past 3 months; and (d) out of the number of sex episodes with a non-primary partner in the past 3 months, how many times a condom was used; responses to these 4 items will be used to determine the change in the total number of unprotected sex episodes (past 3 months) from baseline to 3 months post-intervention, assessed by computerized survey |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| change in performance on condom application exercise | baseline and 3 months | participant is observed and scored while placing a condom on a model |
| change in scores on Traumatic Sexualization Survey | baseline and 3 months | assessed by computerized survey |
| change in scores on Dyadic Trust Scale | baseline and 3 months | assessed by computerized survey |
| change in scores on the HIV Knowledge Questionnaire | baseline and 3 months | assessed by computerized survey |
| change in scores on Sexual Relationship Power Scale | baseline and 3 months | assessed by computerized survey |
| change in scoress on the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version | baseline and after each intervention session | assessed via computerized survey at baseline and via paper and pencil survey at the end of each intervention session |
| change in scores on Abuse-Related Beliefs Questionnaire | baseline and 3 months | assessed by computerized survey |
| change in scores on Condom Attitudes measure | baseline and 3 months | condom attitudes measure assessing (a) attitudes towards condom use in primary relationships; (b) attitudes towards condom use in non-primary relationship; (c) pleasure-related condom attitudes; and (d) respect-related condom attitudes, assessed by computerized survey |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed