Project MARS: Motivating Adolescents to Reduce Sexual Risk

Investigators: Angela D. Bryan, Renee E. Magnan, Arielle S. Gillman, Elizabeth A. Yeater, Sarah W. Feldstein Ewing, Alberta S. Kong, & Sarah J. Schmiege

MARS (Motivating Adolescents to Reduce Sexual risk) is an intervention targeted at reducing adolescent risky sexual behavior, particularly in contexts where alcohol or marijuana use may be involved. An evaluation of the MARS intervention showed that it resulted in decreased incident sexually transmitted infections one year after delivery. This one-session, two-hour intervention is appropriate for community based settings including juvenile justice centers for use with high risk adolescents. The MARS intervention is delivered in a motivational enhancement therapy format. The approach for this intervention is grounded in the assumption that the responsibility and capability for change exist within the participant. The role of the intervention leader is to create an environment that will enhance the participant’s inherent motivation for, commitment to, and movement towards behavior change. The intervention involves group discussion and exercises focused on establishing a condom language, talking about condom use, provision of norms, self-affirmation, high risk situations, and how one might change, along with video review, interactive games, and skills building. The intervention is led by a Masters or PhD level therapist. Groups should be kept small and capped at 6 to 8 participants, and the age range of participants in the group should be restricted to two years (for example, 14-16 or 16-18) in order to keep the range of experiences similar. Although MARS is appropriate for all genders, if possible adolescent groups should be kept single-sex. MARS has been evaluated in a cluster randomized controlled trial. Data was collected at pre-test and immediate post-test as well as 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-intervention. The intervention was effective at reducing STI incidence. Participants had lower incidence of STI at follow-up than participants who received comparison interventions with only sexual risk or sexual risk and alcohol content, as opposed to sexual risk, alcohol, and cannabis content. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Project Redirection, 1980-1983

Investigators: Denise Polit

Project Redirection was a pilot program designed to help disadvantaged pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers achieve economic self-sufficiency. From 1980 to 1983 investigators compiled data from three interviews with participating teens (at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months) in order to evaluate the efficacy of Project Redirection in aiding pregnant or parenting teens as compared to a similar non-Redirection control group. Community-based organizations in four locations arranged a variety of services for Redirection participants including Individual Participant Plans (IPPs), peer group sessions, and community women (local volunteers for support and for positive role models). These services were designed to facilitate the teenagers' participation in educational, vocational, and/or parenting training programs. On average, teenagers stayed with the program for one year. Initial subjects had enrolled in program sites between September 1980 and July 1981 and, along with a comparison group, comprise Sample I. In the fall of 1981, funds became available to enlarge the research sample. Teens enrolled in the program between March 1981 and March 1982, together with an additional group of comparison teens, comprise Sample II. Sample II teens were not administered a baseline interview, since the decision to enlarge the sample came after many Sample II teens were already enrolled in the program. Because Sample II teens were not studied at baseline, many baseline variables for this group were obtained at the 12- month survey. Other baseline variables are missing for the entire Sample II group. Eighty-six percent of the original teenagers (675 of 789) completed the follow-up interviews. The DAAPPP file consists of information on 958 variables gathered from these 675 teens.Note for users of DAAPPP Data Sets #01-B1DAAPPP data sets 01 through B1 are comprised of a User's Guide, SPSS syntax files (*.SPS or *.SPX) and raw data files only. Most of these datasets contain SPSS syntax files that use Job Control Language (JCL) from 1980s versions of SPSS-X. Because the syntax is old, the syntax files require editing to conform to the current syntax standards used by SPSS/Windows or SPSS/Unix. If you require technical assistance in using or editing these syntax files, please contact Sociometrics' Data Support Group at 800.846.3475 or socio@socio.com.

Project SAFE (P-SAFE)

Investigators: Tamara Kuhn, Charles Klein, Alejandra Moreno, and Carmela Lomonaco

Project SAFE is a computer-delivered HIV/STI prevention program specifically designed for Latinas available in both English and Spanish. P-SAFE includes videos of individual women speaking candidly about HIV/STI-related topics in their lives and communities, skills instruction by the health educator, groups of women practicing condom skills, and role-play and novela vignettes demonstrating intervention themes.

Project SAFE: Sexual Awareness For Everyone An Intervention to Prevent STDs Among Minority Women

Investigators: Rochelle N. Shain, Reyes Ramos, Sondra T. Perdue, & Edward R. Newton

Developed for use in public health clinics, PROJECT S.A.F.E. is a three session cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to reduce STD infections among Hispanic and African American women. Sessions are designed to facilitate skill development to avoid infections while increasing awareness that STDs (including AIDS) disproportionately affect minority women. The intervention also helps build decision-making and communication skills, and encourages participants to set risk reduction goals. Participants gain mastery through role-play, group discussion, and behavioral skills exercises. The original evaluation, conducted in metropolitan San Antonio, TX, between 1993 and 1994, included 617 Hispanic and African American women. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=313) or the control group (n=304). Intervention group participants took part in three small-group sessions while their control group counterparts received standard STD counseling. Program participants showed a lower rate of infection as well as a better understanding of risky sexual behavior as compared to the control group. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Project SMART: AIDS Education for Drug Users in Short-Term Treatment

Investigators: Benjamin Lewis

Developed for use in short-term in-patient drug treatment programs, Project SMART includes two distinct interventions: a two-session informational intervention and a six-session enhanced intervention that includes both informational and behavioral skills training. A trained health educator delivers both interventions. In the informational intervention, participants receive an overview presentation about AIDS, complete homework, and watch condom-use and works-cleaning demonstrations. In the enhanced intervention, participants also participate in role-plays, watch video presentations, and practice condom-use and works-cleaning skills. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Project TALENT: Consequences of Adolescent Childbearing for the Young Parents' Future Life, 1960-1974

Investigators: J. J. Card

This study investigated the educational, occupational, and family-related consequences of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing for young women and men who were in the ninth grade in the U.S. in 1960. The study utilized data for a subset of 7,656 individuals (1,883 blacks and 5,773 whites) who had participated in a large-scale educational research study called Project TALENT. Data available include demographic background, cognitive characteristics, and social-psychological characteristics as measured in ninth grade; educational, marital, and childbearing histories through age 29; and plans and expectations at age 29 regarding future childbearing.Note for users of DAAPPP Data Sets #01-B1DAAPPP data sets 01 through B1 are comprised of a User's Guide, SPSS syntax files (*.SPS or *.SPX) and raw data files only. Most of these datasets contain SPSS syntax files that use Job Control Language (JCL) from 1980s versions of SPSS-X. Because the syntax is old, the syntax files require editing to conform to the current syntax standards used by SPSS/Windows or SPSS/Unix. If you require technical assistance in using or editing these syntax files, please contact Sociometrics' Data Support Group at 800.846.3475 or socio@socio.com.

Prospero Project Condom Study, San Francisco, 1989-1991

Investigators: Dan Waldorf and David Lauderback

The Prospero Project Condom Study, San Francisco, 1989-1991, which was conducted between December 1989 and April 1991, explored condom use in 552 male sex workers in San Francisco - men who are at high risk to contract and spread the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Investigators employed face-to-face interviews to gather detailed information about the conditions (e.g., type of partner, type of sexual activity) under which condoms were and were not used. In addition, the investigators sought to quantify the amount of condom failure (i.e., breakage and/or slippage) in this population. This dataset includes information on 736 variables across 552 cases. Respondents were identified through a combination of methods, including snowball sampling, and represented two types of sex workers, hustlers and call men, who are gay, bisexual, heterosexual, or transvestite/transsexual.

Protect and Respect

Investigators: Michelle Teti, Linda Lloyd, Susan Rubinstein, Lisa Bowleg, Mary Ann Nkansa, Russell Cole, Zekarias Berhane, Erika Aaron, Ann Ricksecker, Marla Gold, Susan Spencer, Rhonda Ferguson, Dianne Rorie

PROTECT AND RESPECT, a clinic-based, behavioral intervention, aims to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by decreasing high-risk behaviors among women living with HIV/AIDS. The intervention delivers HIV prevention messages in the following three ways: (1) a primary care provider counsels participants during health care visits; (2) an Intervention Specialist leads five group skills building sessions that teach skills to reduce sexual risk behaviors; and (3) Peer Educators conduct weekly discussion groups, which support participants. attempts to implement behaviors learned in the group skills building sessions. The program provider delivers a one-time, brief prevention message lasting 3 . 5 minutes, while the group skills building sessions consist of five 2-hour weekly educational sessions delivered over a 5-week period. The peer-led support groups meet weekly for 1-hour, beginning after the group skills building sessions have concluded, and may extend for as long as the program is in effect. During support group sessions, women are provided with an opportunity to discuss specific topics such as HIV risk reduction strategies, how to disclose, handling stress, or communicating with partners. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Queens Hospital Center's Teenage Program

Investigators: Jill M. Rabin & Vicki Seltzer

Based upon the premise that a teen's first pregnancy may stem from underlying, unmet needs, this clinic-based program provides medical care, psychosocial support, and education to the adolescent, her partner, and her family. The comprehensive approach to service emphasizes early intervention, beginning during pregnancy. For the duration of the intervention, each patient and her infant remain with a team of providers: an obstetrician-gynecologist, pediatrician, social worker, and health educator. The program also includes a physician/ practitioner 24 hour "on call" system and a reproductive health and family life education program, featuring bi-weekly classes for the patient, her partner, and family. In an effort to prevent repeat pregnancy and STDs, the teen's partner is encouraged to participate in education, support, and counseling activities. A field study of the intervention was conducted in Queens, New York, with 498 adolescents and their infants. Compared to a control group of teen mothers, program participants were more likely to attend and graduate from school and (for those who were sexually active) use regular contraception; additionally, both they and their infants experienced significantly better health. Moreover, the repeat pregnancy rate was significantly lower for program participants compared to the control group. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Periconceptional Multivitamin Supplementation on Structural Birth Defects and Pregnancy Outcomes, 1984-1994

Investigators: Andrew E. Czeizel

The Randomized Controlled Trial of Periconceptional Multivitamin Supplementation on Structural Birth Defects and Pregnancy Outcomes was conducted between 1984 and 1994 at the Family Planning Center in Budapest, Hungary. The study was conducted to test the preventive effect of periconceptional1 multivitamin supplementation on the first occurrence of neural tube defects and other congenital abnormalities. The study was a randomized double-blind controlled trial involving 4,862 informative offspring from 4,783 women. Women planning a pregnancy were randomly assigned to receive a single tablet of a vitamin supplement or a trace-element supplement daily for at least one month before conception and until the date of the second missed menstrual period or later. Up to four visits with study staff took place during the study. Pregnancy outcomes were evaluated prenatally, shortly after birth, and during a follow-up medical examination after the infants' 8th month of life.