Does Early Intervention Prevent Health-Risking Sexual Behaviors Related to HIV/AIDS?

Gang masculinity and high-risk sexual behaviours

“…Among the adolescent risk behaviors that often accompany HRSB are antisocial behavior and conduct problems, delinquency, academic difficulties, alcohol, tobacco and other drug use (Reider, Robertson, and Sims 2014, Capaldi 2014). HRSB among adolescents include early initiation of sex, unplanned pregnancies, HIV and other STIs, and relationship violence (Reed et al 2008, Silverman et al 2006, Rothman et al 2008, Sales et al 2012, Teitelman et al 2011, Miller et al 2011, Minnis et al 2013).…”

The Maternal Ecology of Breastfeeding: A Life Course Developmental Perspective

“…As life course epidemiology grew in popularity, however, many researchers began to explore HRSBs using life course constructs, including trajectories of HRSB across developmental stages [Fergus, Zimmerman, & Caldwell, 2007] and the role of sensitive periods for certain environmental inputs, such as father absence [Ellis et al, 2003]. Several large, seminal studies sought to understand the full scope of the interactions between various sociodemographic characteristics, life circumstances, and comorbid risky behaviors in adolescence and adulthood (i.e., co-occurring risky sex, substance use, delinquency, and violence), leading to a reconceptualization of which levers are most effective in promoting healthy development across these domains [Bailey, 2009] [Reider, Robertson, & Sims, 2014]. This example illustrates the power of using a life course theory approach to studying and intervening in health promotion during a life transition, using interdisciplinary insights and theories.…”

Family‐Based Preventive Interventions: Can the Onset of Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Be Prevented?

“…A 2014 supplemental issue of Prevention Science featured papers exploring the question of whether intervention efforts early in childhood, aimed at preventing or delaying substance use, can have long‐term and cross‐over effects on preventing health‐risking sexual behaviors (HRSB) related to HIV/AIDS. A summary of the findings across this range of studies concluded that despite the fact that these interventions were delivered prior to adolescence and did not focus on sexual behaviors or HRSB, there are results to support the conclusion that interventions delivered in childhood can prevent risk behaviors associated with the acquisition of HIV infection (Reider et al., , p. S4). In particular, childhood interventions focused on aspects of family functioning (e.g., family communication, parental warmth, consistency, and monitoring) had significant effects on HRSB related to HIV/AIDS during adolescence and adulthood.…”

“…These effects have been found for both universal (Hawkins et al., ; Wilcox et al., ) and selective (Kerr et al., ; Lynn et al., ) levels of intervention. Findings from this research demonstrate that (1) intervening early in development, targeting proximal risk, and protective factors can have an impact on a broad array of distal outcomes; (2) preventive interventions can have effects on outcomes not specifically targeted by the intervention (cross‐over effects); and (3) preventive interventions typically have the strongest impact on those at greatest risk (Reider, Robertson, & Sims, ; Robertson, Sims, & Reider, ).…”

“…While these measurement limitations still exist, there is knowledge to be gained in examining the data for potential signals and possible benefit of early intervention for later suicidal behavior. As with previous efforts to reanalyze prevention trials for later cross‐over effects (Reider et al., ), the impact on suicidal ideation and behavior may have varied because of the nature of the sample (selected for risk vs. a universal approach), age range, and power to detect small but important differences (i.e., sample size). The absence of strong effects should not be interpreted to mean that intervening early is not effective.…”