GRANT TITLE: HIV RISK REDUCTION FOR TEENS IN ALCOHOL TREATMENT

Project Title: ENHANCING MY PERSONAL OPTIONS WHILE EVALUATING RISKS

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:                JONATHAN G. TUBMAN, PH.D.

CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS:        ANDRES G.GIL, PH.D.
			            MARILYN J. MONTGOMERY, PH.D.
			            STACI LEON MORRIS, PSY.D.
			            ERIC F. WAGNER, PH.D.

PROJECT COORDINATOR:  JULIE SNYDERS FELDMAN, M.S.

FUNDING AGENCY:  NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM (NIAAA)

PROJECT PERIOD: 04/15/05-03/31/08

TOTAL BUDGET: $2,422,110

EMPOWER is a five-year NIAAA-funded research project designed to evaluate the efficacy of a brief intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors among adolescents in outpatient treatment for alcohol or other drug (AOD) use problems.  The overall aim of the current project is to evaluate a developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive intervention program for decreasing sexual risk behaviors among adolescents undergoing outpatient treatment for AOD problems.  During the course of this project, over 800 participants will be randomly assigned to one of two intervention conditions: Guided Self-Change Intervention for HIV Risk Behavior + Treatment as Usual (GSC-HIV), or Treatment as Usual (TAU) provided by The Starting Place (TSP).  This clinic-based intervention consists of 4 individual-format sessions of HIV risk reduction counseling.  Participants in GSC-HIV are assessed immediately before and after intervention, and at 3-, 6-, and 9-month follow-up contacts.  A parallel assessment schedule is used for TAU participants.  In addition, a parent or guardian completes a brief 15-minute assessment prior to the adolescent’s program entry, either at TSP or by telephone.