RESUMO
PURPOSE: The study aimed to determine the longitudinal associations between several variables assessing positive youth development and HIV risk-reduction practices. METHODS: Participants were 329 youth enrolled in out-of-school time programs in New York City. Longitudinal data were collected in three waves during 2008-2009 (baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up). Because of the nested nature of the data, multivariate analyses were performed using multilevel models. RESULTS: At baseline, HIV risk reduction was associated with female gender, greater individual-level program participation, and greater school connectedness. Over time, HIV risk reduction was associated with program-level participation: Individuals in groups with program-level participation scores 1 standard deviation below the average showed significant declines in risk reduction practices over the 1-year study period compared with individuals in more participatory programs. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides support for the out-of-school environment as an important context for sustaining HIV risk reduction and positive health promotion practices.
Assuntos
Infecções por HIV/prevenção & controle , Comportamentos Relacionados com a Saúde , Atividades de Lazer , Sexo sem Proteção/prevenção & controle , População Urbana , Adolescente , Relações Familiares , Feminino , Infecções por HIV/transmissão , Promoção da Saúde , Humanos , Atividades de Lazer/psicologia , Estudos Longitudinais , Masculino , Análise Multivariada , Cidade de Nova Iorque , Fatores Sexuais , Identificação Social , Sexo sem Proteção/psicologiaRESUMO
Participation in after-school programs is an important lever to improve adolescents' health and well-being; however, well-defined measurement of the quality of participation in these programs is limited. The present study validated a newly designed measure of participation in a sample of urban youth enrolled in community-based after-school programs. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test the structure of the 20-item Tiffany-Eckenrode Program Participation Scale (TEPPS). Results suggest that the scale is comprised of four subscales (Personal Development, Voice/Influence, Safety/Support and Community Engagement). The TEPPS was also correlated with several commonly used measures of program participation. Findings from this paper provide support for the use of the newly designed scale as a valid and reliable measure of quality program participation by youth.
