Emotion: An important link to HIV prevention in black adolescents with mental illnesses
A new University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) study has investigated this question. The findings suggest that psychoeducation and skills building may help sever the emotion-behavior link that contributes to HIV/STI risk among this demographic. The study, "Feelings Matter: Depression Severity and Emotion Regulation in HIV/STI Risk-Related Sexual Behaviors," which has been published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies , was designed to examine contextual factors related to HIV/STI risk among heterosexually active black adolescents with mental illnesses. It explicitly focused on depression and emotion regulation to uncover how these factors in?uence sexual decision-making. "Blacks, adolescents , and people with mental illnesses are all disproportionately affected by HIV/STIs," explains the study's lead author Bridgette M. Brawner, PhD, APRN, Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Department of Family and Community Health. "We kn...