Project Hype 2.0 (Helping Youth Prevent Engaging in Risky Behaviors): Influences on the HIV Attitudes and AIDS Risk Knowledge of African-American Teens

High risk sexual behaviors among adolescents are associated with negative health outcomes including the transmission of STI/HIV and teen pregnancy. African-American (AA) youth are particularly at risk (CDC, 2011) given 60% of AA YRBS Survey participants reported ever having sexual intercourse compared to 44% and 48.6% of their White (W) and Hispanic (H) counterparts, respectively. Similar trends were observed for sexual intercourse with four or more partners in their life time (24.8%-AA compared to 12.1%-W and 14.8%-H) and AA youth were more likely than non-Hispanic white students to initiate sexual activity before age 13.  AA teens (ages of 15-19) have the highest rates of Chlamydia; and those age s13-24, accounted for 65% of HIV diagnoses in 2009.  These trends suggest the need for focused prevention efforts with AA adolescents. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of an STI/HIV/AIDS prevention program on the knowledge, attitudes of AA, 15-19 year old youth, in Houston, Texas; a city that holds the highest birth rates for adolescents under age 15 (Child Trends, 2009). The state of Texas ranks 4th for the highest reported number of adolescent AIDS cases, with more than 50% of youth HIV cases diagnosed among African Americans (Texas HIV/STD Surveillance Report, 2008, 2006). In an effort to address these trends, the HYPE 2.o (Helping Youth Prevent Engaging in Risky Behaviors) Project is a 3-year, multi-faceted, community-based project, funded by the DHHS. It is comprised of the empirically validated, 8-session curriculum, BART (Becoming a Responsible Teen—ETR Associates, 2011; St. Lawrence et al., 1995), along with activities specific to positive youth development, adolescent development and healthy relationships.

METHODS: HYPE 2.0 is a quasi-experimental and longitudinal project with intervention and comparison groups.  The current study is a pre-test/post-test design that focuses on a subset of Year-1 participants from the intervention group (N=105: 52.4% male, mean age 16.5) who completed the B.A.R.T. Student Knowledge Survey. This group exhibited high levels of risky sex behaviors at baseline: 74.3% had engaged in sexual intercourse, 59% reported 2 or more lifetime sexual partners and 12.4% reported ever being pregnant or fathered a child.

RESULTS: Based on a series of  paired t-tests, measures of HIV attitudes and AIDS risk knowledge at post-test improved significantly from those at pre-test.  Gain scores of attitudes and knowledge were higher for females.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Findings provide preliminary evidence to support the effectiveness of BART for the target population in improving HIV/AIDS attitudes and risk knowledge.  Continued data collection during Year 2 and Year 3 of the HYPE 2.0 Project will allow for examinations of ithe effects of attitudes and knowledge on future reported sexual behaviors, 6-months post intervention.  A rigorous test of BART’s effectiveness will be possible due to analyses that will include the comparison group.  If the effectiveness of BART can be demonstrated for this population via future quasi-experimental analyses, community-based delivery of BART could be demonstrated as a plausible approach to decreasing risky sexual behaviors, STI/HIV transmission rates and teen pregnancy among this at risk population.