Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART): Evidence Summary
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BART was designed as an HIV risk-reduction program for use in nonschool settings with African-American teens ages 14-18. Designed to reduce risky sexual behaviors and improve safer sex skills, the sessions provide information on HIV and related risk behaviors and the importance of abstinence. Although designed as an HIV/AIDS prevention program, BART also includes information on pregnancy prevention. The original evaluation was conducted in Jackson, Mississippi.
In general, the young people in the BART study reduced their number of sex partners, decreased unprotected sexual activity, and increased their use of condoms (St. Lawrence et al., 1995).
One year after the intervention:
- Reduced initiation of sex. BART had delayed the onset of intercourse among sexually inexperienced youth by as much as 63%.
- Reduced unprotected sex. BART reduced the rate of unprotected intercourse by 42%.
- BART youth scored higher on the HIV knowledge test than the control group and were more skillful than those in the control group in handling pressures to engage in unprotected sex.
Four elements comprised the intervention:
- Youth received information about HIV/AIDS risk.
- Youth were trained to use their knowledge about HIV/AIDS to act on their own behalf.
- Roleplaying was used to enhance the teens’ communication skills so they could better navigate high-risk situations.
- BART reinforced positive behaviors so they would become the norm within the teens’ social circles.
BART is especially suited for use in nonschool settings such as Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, YMCA programs, drug rehabilitation programs, shelters, counseling and health centers, and church groups.
Reference:
St. Lawrence, J.S., T. Brasfield, K.W. Jefferson, E. Alleyne, R.E. O’Bannon and A. Shirley,1995. Cognitive-behavioral intervention to reduce African-American adolescents’ risk for HIV infection. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 63 (2): 221-237.
