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Community-based interventions to reduce low income, African
American women's risk of sexually transmitted diseases: a randomized
controlled trial of three theoretical models.
American Journal of Community Psychology 2001;29(6):937-964.
St. Lawrence JS, Wilson TE, Eldridge GD, Brasfield TL, O'Bannon III
RE.
Abstract
A community-based sample of disadvantaged African American women (n = 445)
was recruited to participate in 1 of 3 theoretically driven experimental
interventions based on either the theory of gender and power, social learning
theory, or cognitive behavioral theory. Intervention outcomes were compared
with a waiting list control condition. From baseline to postintervention,
women in the experimental interventions showed differential change on cognitive
indices (knowledge and attitudes) and skill acquisition (partner negotiation
skills, correct condom application, lubricant selection, and information-provision
to social networks) whereas control participants were unchanged. Women in
the 3 experimental interventions also completed follow-up assessments for
1 year following the interventions. In all 3 experimental conditions, condom
use increased relative to the control group and there were no differences
between the experimental interventions. Women who participated in one of
the theoretically grounded interventions continued to increase condom use
over the following year. Women entering new relationships reported significantly
more condom use than did women who remained in ongoing relationships. The
findings suggest that intervention models that have proven effective for
women who engage in high-risk behavior may be less effective for women in
established relationships for whom risk is primarily derived from the extrarelationship
behavior of their partners.