There are no published longitudinal studies examining the impact of traumatic events on risk behavior among HIV-positive men and women. As a result, we know very little about how stress, particularly trauma-related stress, influences HIV risk behavior. This study will be one of the first randomized studies to examine the efficacy of reducing HIV risk behavior by combining a trauma-focused stress reduction intervention with a standard HIV prevention skills intervention. This study is specifically targeting a low-income, urban population, a group that experiences a disproportionate rate of crime as well as HIV infection. Findings of the research will likely provide information on the relationship between trauma and risk behavior. Furthermore, this research can identify key issues related to stress, psychosocial factors, and overall health that will be relevant to investigate in future, larger-scale studies of HIV-positive as well as HIV-negative populations.
Individuals who reported living with HIV, engaging in HIV risk behavior in the past 3 months, experiencing a traumatic stressor and trauma-related symptoms in the past 3 months were assigned to one of three conditions: 1) standard HIV prevention skills; 2) standard HIV prevention skills + trauma-focused stress reduction skills training; or 3) trauma-focused stress reduction skills training.
