BACKGROUND:There is little evidence to support the widely accepted assertion that better physician-patient relationships result in higher rates of adherence with recommended therapies.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) and group interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for binge eating. Fifty-six women with nonpurging bulimia were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: CBT, IPT, or a wait-list control (WL). Treatment was administered in small groups that met for 16 weekly sessions. At posttreatment, both group CBT and group IPT treatment conditions showed significant improvement in reducing binge eating, whereas the WL condition did not. Binge eating remained significantly below baseline levels for both treatment conditions at 6-month and 1-year follow-ups. These data support the central role of both eating behavior and interpersonal factors in the understanding and treatment of bulimia.

Objectives We evaluated network mixing and likely influences exerted by network members upon black men who have sex with men (BMSM). Methods We conducted separate social and sexual network mixing analyses of study participants to determine the degree of mixing on risk behaviors such as unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). Logistic regression was used to assess the association between a network “enabler” (network member who would not disapprove of the respondent’s behavior) presence and respondent behavior. Results Across the network sample (n=1,187) network mixing on risk behaviors was more assortative (like with like) in the sexual network (rsex, 0.37–0.54) compared to the social network (rsocial, 0.21–0.24). Minimal assortativity (heterogeneous mixing) among HIV-infected men on UAI was evident. BMSM reporting an enabler in the social network, were also more likely to practice UAI [adjusted odds ratio (AOR, 4.06; 95% CI 1.64–10.05) a finding that was not observed in the sex network (AOR, 1.31; 95% CI 0.44–3.91). Conclusions Different mixing on risk behavior was evident with more disassortativity among social compared to sexual networks. Enabling effects of social network members may be a mechanism through which social contacts affect risky behavior. Additional attention to the social networks of high-risk populations is needed for development of effective and sustained HIV prevention interventions.