Feasibility and initial efficacy testing of an HIV prevention intervention for Black adolescent girls

Abstract

HIV is disproportionately prevalent among Blacks. Black women most often contract HIV from having risky sex, and adolescence is a time when risky sex behaviors peak. This study tested the feasibility and initial efficacy of an intervention designed to help Black adolescent girls avoid risky sex behaviors. The intervention included group education for girls followed by a service learning opportunity in which the girls practiced the assertiveness and communication skills they had learned in the education sessions, and individual education for the girls’ mothers. The intervention was guided by a risk and protective factors framework and by the goal of promoting racial/ethnic pride in the girls. We determined that the intervention was feasible. Schools allowed recruitment of potential participants and the use of their facilities for meeting with the girls. We encountered little participant dropout from the study, and the intervention was highly regarded by the girls who participated and their mothers. We found improvements in aspects of the girls’ relationships with their mothers, their sexual assertiveness, and their self-efficacy to use condoms.