The Impact of Perceived Group Support on the Effectiveness of an HIV Prevention Intervention for African American Women

Abstract

The enormous HIV/AIDS disparity among African American women and women in other ethnic groups dictates the need to implement the most effective HIV prevention interventions. This study examined the impact of perceived group support on HIV protective behaviors (i.e., attitudes and behaviors related to condom use, alcohol, and drugs) of African American women participating in an HIV prevention intervention. Participants were 398 heterosexual, unmarried African American women older than 18 years who agreed to participate in Sisters Informing Sisters on Topics about AIDS, a widely used HIV prevention program for African American women. Regression analyses revealed that higher perceived support contributed to (1) higher condom negotiation efficacy, (2) higher condom use efficacy, (3) consistent condom use for sexually active participants, (4) higher perception of drug harmfulness, and (5) drug disapproval at posttest. These effects were found while controlling for pretest measures of condom and drug attitudes and use along with age, partner status, length of relationship, and education. The findings suggest that HIV intervention efforts should attend to ways in which women receive and provide support to one another.

Keywords

perceived support HIV prevention

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Albarracín, D. , Durantini, M.R. , & Earl, A. ( 2006). Empirical and theoretical conclusions of an analysis of outcomes of HIV-prevention interventions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 73-78.

Belgrave, F.Z. , & Allison, K.W. ( 2006). African American psychology: From Africa to America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Bowleg, L. , Belgrave, F.Z. , & Reisen, C.A. ( 2000). Gender roles, power strategies, and precautionary sexual self-efficacy: Implications for black and Latina women’s HIV/AIDS protective behaviors. Sex Roles, 42, 613-635.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 2007). HIV/AIDS fact sheet 2007. Mother-to-child (perinatal) HIV transmission and prevention. Atlanta, GA: Author.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 2008). HIV/AIDS fact sheet 2008. HIV/ AIDS among women. Atlanta, GA: Author.

Center on AIDS and Community Research. (2008 ). Diffusion of effective behavioral interventions. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from http://effectiveinterventions.org/

Corneille, M.A. , Zyzniewski, L.E. , & Belgrave, F.Z. (2008). Age and HIV risk and protective behaviors among African American women. Journal of Black Psychology , 34, 217-233.

Crosby, R.A. , DiClemente, R.J. , Wingood, G.M. , Sionean, C. , Cobb, B.K. , & Harrington, K. (2000). Correlates of unprotected vaginal sex among African American female adolescents: Importance of relationship dynamics. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Psychiatry , 154, 893-899.

DiClemente, R.J. , & Wingood, G.M. ( 1995). A randomized controlled trial of an HIV sexual risk-reduction intervention for young African-American women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 274, 1271-1276.

10.

Grills, C. ( 2004). African psychology. In R. Jones (Ed.), African psychology (pp. 171-208) . Hampton, VA: Cobb & Henry.

11.

Helgeson, V.S. , Cohen, S. , Schulz, R. , & Yasko, J. ( 2000). Group support interventions for women with breast cancer: Who benefits from what? Health Psychology, 19, 107-114.

12.

Hyde, J. , Appleby, P.R. , Weiss, G. , Bailey, J. , & Morgan, X. ( 2005). Group-level interventions for persons living with HIV: A catalyst for individual change. AIDS Education and Prevention , 17, 53-65.

13.

Jordan, J. , Kaplan, A. , Miller, J.B. , Stiver, I. , & Surrey, J. ( 1991). Women’s growth in connection: Writings from the Stone Center. New York: Guilford .

14.

Klaw, E. , & Humphreys, K. ( 2004). The role of peer-led mutual help groups in promoting health and well-being. In J. L. DeLucia-Waack , D. A. Gerrity , C. R. Calodner , & M. T. Riva (Eds.), Handbook of group counseling and psychotherapy (pp. 630-640). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

15.

Lee, S.D. , Arozullah, A.M. , & Cho, Y.I. ( 2004). Health literacy, social support, and health: A research agenda. Social Science & Medicine, 58, 1309-1321.

16.

Mancoske, R.J. , Rountree, M.A. , Donovan, M.E. , & Neighbors, I. ( 2006). HIV/ AIDS knowledge and perceptions among African American male and female college students at a historical black university. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 5, 221-232.

17.

Miller, J. ( 1991). The development of women’s sense of self. In J. Jordan , A. Kaplan , J. Miller , I. Stiver , & J. Surrey (Eds.), Women’s growth in connection: Writings from the Stone Center (pp. 11-26). New York: Guilford .

18.

Newman, M.D. ( 2004). Women and HIV. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite.jsp?page=kb-03-01-12

19.

Nobles, W.W. ( 2004). African philosophy: Foundations for Black psychology . In R. Jones (Ed.), Black psychology (pp. 57-72). Berkeley, CA: Cobbs & Henry.

20.

Rotheram-Borus, M.J. , Lee, M.B. , Murphy, D.A. , Futterman, D. , Duan, N. , & Birnbaum, J.M. (2001). Efficacy of a preventive intervention for youth living with HIV. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 400-405.

21.

Springer, J.F. , Sale, E. , Kasim, R. , Winter, W. , Sambrano, S. , & Chipungu, S. ( 2004). Effectiveness of culturally specific approaches to substance abuse prevention: Findings from CSAP’s national cross-site evaluation of high risk youth programs. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 13, 1-23.

22.

St Lawrence, J.S. , Eldridge, G.D. , Reitman, D. , Little, C.E. , Shelby, M.C. , & Brasfield, T.L. (1998). Factors influencing condom use among African American women: Implications for risk reduction interventions . American Journal of Community Psychology, 26, 7-28.

23.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2007, January 12). 2007 Population Estimates. Retrieved October 5, 2008, from http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en

24.

Wingood, G.M. , & DiClemente, R.J. (2000). Application of the theory of gender and power to examine HIV-related exposures, risk factors, and effective interventions for women. Health Education & Behavior, 27, 539-565.

25.

Wingood, G.M. , & DiClemente, R.J. (2006). Enhancing adoption of evidence-based HIV interventions: Promotion of a suite of HIV prevention interventions for African American women. AIDS Education and Prevention, 18, 161-170.