Color It Real: A Program to Increase Condom Use and Reduce Substance Abuse and Perceived Stress

Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA

Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Incorporated, 2545 Benjamin E Mays Drive, Atlanta, GA 30311, USA

McKing Consulting Corporation, 2900 Chamblee Tucker Road, Building 10, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editors: Mark Edberg, Barbara E. Hayes, Valerie Montgomery Rice and Paul B. Tchounwou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13(1), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010051

Received: 15 August 2015 / Revised: 31 October 2015 / Accepted: 26 November 2015 / Published: 22 December 2015

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Proceedings from the 2014 Minority Health & Health Disparities Grantees’ Conference (MHHDGC))

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Abstract

Few interventions have targeted perceived stress as a co-occurring construct central to substance use and subsequent HIV/AIDS risk reduction among African American urban young adults. The Color It Real Program was a seven session, weekly administered age-specific and culturally-tailored intervention designed to provide substance abuse and HIV education and reduce perceived stress among African Americans ages 18 to 24 in Atlanta, GA. Effectiveness was assessed through a quasi-experimental study design that consisted of intervention (n = 122) and comparison (n = 70) groups completing a pre- and post-intervention survey. A series of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests were used to assess pre- to post-intervention changes between study groups. For intervention participants, perceived stress levels were significantly reduced by the end of the intervention (t(70) = 2.38, p = 0.020), condom use at last sexual encounter significantly increased (F = 4.43, p = 0.0360), intervention participants were significantly less likely to drink five or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting (F = 5.10, p = 0.0245), and to use clean needles when injecting the drug (F = 36.99, p = 0.0001). This study is among the first of its kind to incorporate stress management as an integral approach to HIV/SA prevention. The program has implications for the design of other community-based, holistic approaches to addressing substance use and risky behaviors for young adults. View Full-Text

Keywords: African Americans; young adults; substance abuse; HIV prevention; stress

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Zellner, T.; Trotter, J.; Lenoir, S.; Walston, K.; Men-Na’a, L.; Henry-Akintobi, T.; Miller, A. Color It Real: A Program to Increase Condom Use and Reduce Substance Abuse and Perceived Stress. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010051

AMA Style

Zellner T, Trotter J, Lenoir S, Walston K, Men-Na’a L, Henry-Akintobi T, Miller A. Color It Real: A Program to Increase Condom Use and Reduce Substance Abuse and Perceived Stress. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2016; 13(1):51. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010051

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zellner, Tiffany, Jennie Trotter, Shelia Lenoir, Kelvin Walston, L’dia Men-Na’a, Tabia Henry-Akintobi, and Assia Miller. 2016. "Color It Real: A Program to Increase Condom Use and Reduce Substance Abuse and Perceived Stress" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13, no. 1: 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13010051

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