Wendy Hadley

Psychiatric Disorders and Sexual Risk among Adolescents in Mental Health Treatment.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between psychiatric disorders and sexual behaviors among adolescents receiving mental health treatment. Adolescents in mental health treatment have been found to have higher rates of HIV risk behavior than their peers, but data concerning the relationship between psychopathology and risk are inconsistent and limited. METHOD Eight hundred and forty adolescents (56% female, 58% African American, mean age = 14.9 years) and their parents completed computerized assessments of psychiatric symptoms via the Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (Shaffer, 2000a, 2000b). Adolescents also reported on sexual risk behaviors (vaginal/anal sex, condom use at last sex) and completed urine screens for a sexually transmitted infection (STI). RESULTS Adolescents meeting criteria for mania, externalizing disorders (oppositional defiant, conduct, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders), or comorbid for externalizing and internalizing disorders (major depressive, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorders) were significantly more likely to report a lifetime history of vaginal or anal sex than those who did not meet criteria for any psychiatric disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 2.0, 2.3, and 1.9, respectively). Adolescents meeting criteria for mania were significantly more likely to have 2 or more partners in the past 90 days (OR = 3.2) and to test positive for a STI (OR = 4.3) relative to adolescents who did not meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder. CONCLUSIONS The presence of internalizing and externalizing disorders, especially mania, suggests the need for careful screening and targeting of adolescent sexual behavior during psychiatric treatment.

Parent–Adolescent Sexual Communication: Associations of Condom Use with Condom Discussions

This study investigated the relationship between parent–teen sexual communication, discussion of condoms, and condom use among adolescents in mental health treatment. Adolescents with a history of sexual intercourse and their parents completed questionnaires assessing adolescent sexual risk behavior, sexual communication, and discussion of sexual topics. Greater condom use by adolescents was associated with parent–adolescent condom discussion but was not associated with openness in sexual communication. Seventy-six percent of adolescents reported that parents had discussed condoms with them and these discussions were significantly associated with protected sexual acts. In a logistic regression, accounting for age, gender, race, and psychiatric diagnosis teens that discussed condoms with their parent were more likely to report condom use at last sex. Increasing direct communication about condoms may be an important step in increasing adolescent’s safer sex behavior. Mental health disorders and family distress may make such discussions challenging but are not an insurmountable barrier to direct discussions about condoms.

Adolescent Sexual Risk: Factors Predicting Condom Use Across the Stages of Change

This study examined factors associated with high-risk adolescents’ movement toward or away from adopting consistent condom use behavior using the Transtheoretical Model Stages of Change. Participants drawn from the inactive comparison condition of a randomized HIV prevention trial (Project SHIELD) responded to items assessing pros and cons of condom use, peer norms, condom communication, and perceived invulnerability to HIV. Participants were categorized based on their condom use behavior using the Transtheoretical Model. Multiple logistic regressions found that progression to consistent condom use was predicted by continuing to perceive more advantages to condom use, reporting greater condom use communication with partners, and less perceived invulnerability to HIV. Movement away from adopting consistent condom use was predicted by a decrease in perceived advantages to condom use, increased perceived condom disadvantages, and fewer condom discussions. Future interventions may be tailored to enhance these factors that were found to change over time.

Who Accepts a Rapid HIV Antibody Test? The Role of Race/Ethnicity and HIV Risk Behavior Among Community Adolescents

PURPOSE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend routine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening in health care settings for all individuals aged 13-64 years; however, overall testing rates among adolescents still continue to remain low. This study examined factors related to the acceptance of HIV testing among an at-risk sample of ethnically/racially diverse community adolescents. METHODS Adolescents aged 15-21 (N = 81) years were recruited from community-based youth organizations to complete HIV risk assessment surveys. After the completion of the survey, participants were offered a free OraQuick rapid HIV antibody test. RESULTS More than half (53.1%) of the participants accepted the test, with the black population being more likely to accept testing as compared to Latinos (75% vs. 39%). After controlling for race/ethnicity, significant predictors of test acceptance included history of sexual intercourse (OR = 5.43), having only one sexual partner in the past 3 months (OR = 4.88), not always using a condom with a serious partner (OR = 3.94), and not using a condom during last sexual encounter (OR = 4.75). CONCLUSION Given that many adolescents are willing to know their HIV status, policies that support free or low-cost routine testing may lead to higher rates of case identification among youth. However, approaches must be developed to increase test acceptance among Latino adolescents and teenagers with multiple sexual partners.

Suicide Attempt and Sexual Risk Behavior: Relationship among Adolescents

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between a history of suicide attempt and a range of current sexual risk behaviors in a large sample of sexually high-risk adolescents. Baseline data from 1,245 sexually active 15 to 21 year olds were collected as part of a multi-site, randomized trial of a brief HIV prevention program. Measures were collected using audio computer assisted self-interviews. Accounting for demographic, contextual, and substance use variables, a lifetime history of suicide attempt significantly added to multivariate regression models predicting sexual risk. Inconsistent condom users were almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide, and adolescents with an STI diagnosis were approximately twice as likely to have a history of suicide attempt. A history of suicidal behavior can be identified by clinicians and appears to be an important marker for sexual risk, which may represent an expression of emotional distress or a passive form of self-injury for suicidal adolescents.

Project STYLE: A Multisite RCT for HIV Prevention Among Youths in Mental Health Treatment

OBJECTIVE The study examined the efficacy of family-based and adolescent-only HIV prevention programs in decreasing HIV risk and improving parental monitoring and sexual communication among youths in mental health treatment. METHODS A randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 721 adolescents (ages 13-18 years) and their caregivers from mental health settings in three U.S. cities were randomly assigned to one of three theory-based, structured group interventions: family-based HIV prevention, adolescent-only HIV prevention, and adolescent-only health promotion. Interventions were delivered during an all-day workshop. Assessments were completed at baseline and three months postintervention. RESULTS Compared with those in the health intervention, adolescents in the HIV prevention interventions reported fewer unsafe sex acts (adjusted rate ratio=.49, p=.01), greater condom use (adjusted relative change=59%, p=.01), and greater likelihood of avoiding sex (adjusted odds ratio=1.44, p=.05). They also showed improved HIV knowledge (p<.01) and self-efficacy (p<.05). The family-based intervention, compared with the other interventions, produced significant improvements in parent-teen sexual communication (p<.01), parental monitoring (p<.01), and parental permissiveness (p=.05). CONCLUSIONS This RCT found that the HIV prevention interventions reduced sexual risk behavior over three months in a large, diverse sample of youths in mental health treatment and that the family-based intervention improved parental monitoring and communication with teens about sex. These interventions show promise.

Monitoring challenges: A closer look at parental monitoring, maternal psychopathology, and adolescent sexual risk

The present study sought to examine associations between maternal psychopathology, parental monitoring, and adolescent sexual activity among adolescents in mental health treatment. Seven hundred ninety mother-adolescent dyads recruited from adolescent mental health treatment settings completed audio computer-assisted structured interview assessments examining parent psychiatric symptoms, parental monitoring, and adolescent sexual risk behavior. Path analysis was used to examine the associations between variables of interest. Maternal caregivers who reported more mental health symptoms were more likely to have adolescents who reported recent sex and this relationship was mediated by less parental monitoring. These findings suggest that maternal caregivers with mental health symptoms may need specific interventions that provide assistance and support in monitoring their teens in order to reduce sexual risk taking among adolescents in mental health treatment.

Mania Symptoms and HIV-Risk Behavior among Adolescents in Mental Health Treatment.

This study explored whether adolescents with elevated symptoms of mania (ESM+) engage in more HIV risk behaviors than those with other psychiatric disorders and examined factors associated with HIV risk behavior among ESM+ adolescents. Eight hundred forty adolescents (56% female, 58% African American, M age = 14.9 years) who received mental health treatment completed private, computer-based assessments of psychiatric disorders and of sexual and substance use behaviors and provided urine to screen for sexually transmitted infections (STI). Eighty-seven percent met criteria for a psychiatric disorder, and among these youth 21% were considered ESM+. Compared to those with other psychiatric disorders, ESM+ were more likely to be sexually active (61.6% vs. 53.6%), have multiple sexual partners (58.6% vs. 37.5%), have unprotected sex (38.4% vs. 28.0%), exchange sex for money (4.7% vs. 1.2%), and test positive for an STI (14.0% vs. 6.3%). Among ESM+ youth, sexual risk behaviors were primarily associated with individual factors (e.g., self-efficacy, impulsivity, and substance use) and varied depending on the type of sexual behavior (e.g., onset of sex, number of partners, and condom use). Adolescents with ESM should be regularly screened for sexual risk behaviors and receive HIV prevention skills. Efforts to increase self-efficacy for safer sex, reduce impulsivity, and decrease substance use may be effective targets for sexual risk reduction among adolescents with ESM.

Adolescent Weight Control: An Intervention Targeting Parent Communication and Modeling Compared With Minimal Parental Involvement

OBJECTIVE Adolescent weight control interventions demonstrate variable findings, with inconsistent data regarding the appropriate role for parents. The current study examined the efficacy of a standard adolescent behavioral weight control (BWC) intervention that also targeted parent-adolescent communication and parental modeling of healthy behaviors (Standard Behavioral Treatment + Enhanced Parenting; SBT + EP) compared with a standard BWC intervention (SBT). METHODS 49 obese adolescents (M age = 15.10; SD = 1.33; 76% female; 67.3% non-Hispanic White) and a caregiver were randomly assigned to SBT or SBT + EP. Adolescent and caregiver weight and height, parental modeling, and weight-related communication were obtained at baseline and end of the 16-week intervention. RESULTS Significant decreases in adolescent weight and increases in parental self-monitoring were observed across both conditions. Analyses of covariance revealed a trend for greater reduction in weight and negative maternal commentary among SBT condition participants. CONCLUSIONS Contrary to hypotheses, targeting parent-adolescent communication and parental modeling did not lead to better outcomes in adolescent weight control.

Family-Based HIV-Prevention for Adolescents with Psychiatric Disorders

Family factors are influential in both HIV/AIDS-risk behavior and mental illness, and thus, families can be a critical resource in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, especially for young people with psychiatric problems. Surprisingly few HIV-risk reduction programs capitalize on the strengths of families to prevent risk behavior while simultaneously addressing mental health. This chapter reviews current research on the association of mental health, HIV/AIDS-risk behavior, and behavioral interventions with special emphasis on the role of families in improving health outcomes for young people. Given the paucity of available empirically validated family-based interventions, we describe an innovative and highly promising program for teens with in mental health treatment based on the Social-Personal Framework of HIV/AIDS-risking mental health issues.