Publication Date

2010-12-16

Availability

Open access

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PHD)

Department

Educational and Psychological Studies (Education)

Date of Defense

2010-11-18

First Committee Member

Robert C. McMahon - Committee Chair

Second Committee Member

Brian L. Lewis - Committee Member

Third Committee Member

Kent F. Burnett - Committee Member

Fourth Committee Member

Robert A. Halberstein - Committee Member

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between four personality styles and two important indications of HIV risk behavior, at intake and 3-month follow-up, among a sample of adolescents participating in court-mandated substance abuse treatment in conjunction with an HIV prevention intervention. This study involved a secondary analysis of data from a NIDA funded project (1R01DA011875-01, R. Malow, PI). Predictor variables included levels of antisocial (unruly), dependent(submissive), avoidant (inhibited), and borderline (borderline tendency) personality styles drawn from scales of the Million Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). Criterion variables included number of sexual partners and percentage of sex acts unprotected, derived from the Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA). A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test study hypotheses. Analyses controlled for age, ethnicity, education, gender, intervention status, the three personality variables not central to the hypothesis being tested, and baseline values of sexual risk behavior, when relevant. Results from the multiple regression analyses failed to support study hypotheses,indicating that adolescent personality styles were not important predictors of HIV risk behavior. Results are discussed within the context of the relevant literature. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are noted.

Keywords

Personality Psychopathology; Sexual Risk Behavior; HIV Risk; Adolescence; Substance Use

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