Role of relationship context in influencing college students' responsiveness to HIV prevention videos.

This research examined the effectiveness of different HIV prevention videos for students as a function of whether they were in a dating relationship. Two hundred two college students completed pretest measures and were randomly assigned to watch one of three 42-min videos (communication skills, technical skills, combined skills). Posttest and 3-month follow-up data indicated that receiving the technical skills video was associated with greater self-efficacy for condom use across several different dimensions. However, students who received the combined skills video and were not currently in a dating relationship had the greatest proportion of protected acts of intercourse. These findings suggest that video-based interventions can be an effective way of decreasing risky sexual behavior, and that HIV prevention messages that focus on both technical and communication skills are the most successful in leading to behavioral change.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes