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. 2012 Apr;16(3):571-7.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-011-0101-1.

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

David H Barker  1 , Rebecca R Swenson, Larry K Brown, Bonita F Stanton, Peter A Vanable, Michael P Carey, Robert F Valois, Ralph J Diclemente, Laura F Salazar, Daniel Romer
Affiliations

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

David H Barker et al. AIDS Behav. 2012 Apr.

Abstract

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. Data were provided by 1,654 African-American adolescents who participated in a large multi-city prevention trial (Project iMPACCS). Participants were randomly assigned to an empirically-validated skill-based intervention or a general health promotion control group. Both stigma and knowledge were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Results suggested that adolescents participating in the intervention showed improvements in knowledge and decreases in stigma when compared to controls. Improvements in stigma appeared to be partly driven by improvements in knowledge. Higher baseline stigma was shown to reduce gains in knowledge in both the treatment and control groups. Results suggest that HIV-stigma can interfere with how youth identify with and internalize messages from group-based prevention trials.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Standardized model of HIV Knowledge and HIV Stigma. Explanatory footer: Although estimated, non-significant parameters were not presented in the figure. Analyses also controlled for sexual experience, which was not related to any parameters included in the model. Letters were used to label paths discussed in text: A) the direct effect of treatment on HIV-knowledge, B) the direct effect of treatment on HIV-stigma, C) the indirect effect of treatment on HIV-stigma via HIV-knowledge, D) the effect of baseline HIV-stigma on change in HIV-knowledge, and E) the moderating effect of treatment on path D. ns = not significant.
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