Toward the Development of Preventive Interventions to Reduce HRSB, HIV/AIDS, and Multiple Problem Behaviors

Abstract

While we have witnessed tremendous progress in the field of prevention science over the years, some important gaps remain. This Supplemental Issue helps advance the field by focusing on preventive interventions for children and adolescents, and the potential for long-term effects on drug abuse and health-risking sexual behaviors (HRSB) in the late adolescent and young adult years. It not only expands our understanding of the etiology and prevention of HRSB and HIV/ AIDS but also has important implications for the development of interventions capable of widespread dissemination and an impact on multiple health risk behaviors. The six papers included in the Supplemental Issue represent a broad range of intervention strategies and methods, supported by diverse theoretical frameworks, and focus on target populations that vary in terms of demographic characteristics and level of baseline risk. One paper focuses on a school-based intervention targeting early aggressive behavior in children (Kellam et al. 2014). Two papers focus on universal interventions targeting drug use and associated risk factors using either a combined schooland family-based intervention implemented during childhood (Hill et al. 2014) or a familybased intervention implemented during early adolescence (Spoth et al. 2014). One paper focuses on universal and targeted interventions implemented during childhood to address conduct problems using both schooland family-based approaches (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group 2014). Two others involve selective family-based interventions implemented either alone during childhood (Skinner et al. 2014) or as part of a multilevel strategy combining universal, selective, and indicated approaches implemented during early adolescence (Caruthers et al. 2014). The interventions were tested using different study designs, research methods, and data analysis approaches. Despite these notable differences and without any direct focus on sexual behavior, four of these long-term studies found significant (direct or indirect) reductions in HRSB for some or all of participants (Caruthers et al. 2014; Hill et al. 2014; Kellam et al. 2014; Spoth et al. 2014). Although the remaining two studies did not find intervention effects, they did provide etiologic data supporting the general thesis of this Supplemental Issue (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group 2014; Skinner et al. 2014). As a group, this collection of papers makes an important contribution to the prevention literature by providing long-term intervention and/or etiologic evidence that early preventive interventions not explicitly targeting sexual behavior or HRSB can prevent risk behaviors associated with the acquisition of HIV/AIDS.Moreover, these papers provide additional evidence that preventive interventions targeting shared risk and protective factors can have an impact on multiple problem behaviors. The findings from this impressive collection of studies are consistent with a large body of research focusing on (1) epidemiology findings regarding the developmental course of risk behaviors, (2) research on common psychosocial risk and protective factors at multiple levels of influence that contribute to problem behaviors, and (3) research demonstrating that intervening on shared risk and protective factors can prevent multiple risk behavior outcomes.