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Testing the Effectiveness of a Motivational Interviewing Intervention to Reduce HIV Risk and Drug Use in Young Sexual Minority Men in a Community-Based Organization Setting

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Abstract

Younger sexual minority men (YSMM) remain at high risk for HIV infection and substance use increases this risk. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a (4-session) motivational interviewing (MI) intervention to reduce substance use and sexual risk taking when delivered at two community-based organizations (CBOs) in the New York City metropolitan area. Participants included 86 YSMM aged 15–29 who reported recent sexual HIV transmission risk and substance use. Overall, 86% of the sample identified as a racial or ethnic minority. Within each CBO, participants were randomized to receive either the MI intervention or enhanced treatment as usual (an HIV testing session plus PrEP information and referrals to CBO services). Contrary to hypotheses, results provided no indication that the MI intervention was associated with reductions in substance use (alcohol, cannabis, or other illicit drug use) or sexual risk taking or current PrEP use. Results are discussed in terms of challenges in real world intervention implementation, study enrollment, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Data Availability

Data not publicly available.

Code Availability

Descriptive statistics were calculated using SPSS version 27. All outcome models were calculated using Mplus version 8.0. Code available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the contributions of Jeffrey T. Parsons, PhD and the Young Men’s Health Project Team, particularly R. Dilones, S. Gurung, R. Jimenez, S. S. Jones, T. Adebayo, F. Cruz, G. Edwards, J. Adams-Skinner, A. Rangel, H. Hamadi, C. Cabral, P. Bertone, M. Mota, E. Felix, T. Durden, J. Malz, A. Bair, A. Ramos, B. Brooks, K. Glover, D. Matthews, and M. Pawson. Finally, our deepest thanks to our participants.

Funding

This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse grant (R01 DA041262; PI Starks).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Ave. 611 Hunter North, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Tyrel J. Starks, Steven Samrock, Jesse Bradford-Rogers, Jonathan Marmo & Demetria Cain

  2. Graduate Program in Health Psychology and Clinical Practice, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Tyrel J. Starks

  3. Boom!Health, New York, NY, USA

    David Lopez

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  1. Tyrel J. Starks
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Contributions

TS led the study team and was primarily responsible for development and execution of the analytic plan, drafting text, and manuscript submission. SS contributed to the introduction and discussion sections. DC oversaw data collection and contributed to the methods section. DL provide administrative oversight at the project site and feedback on the manuscript overall. JBR and JM assisted with project management and recruitment. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tyrel J. Starks.

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No conflict of interest declared.

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the CUNY University Integrated Institutional Review Board (CUNY-UI IRB) and performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Consent to Participate

All participants were provided written informed consent information and this was reviewed verbally prior to the start of the study.

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Starks, T.J., Samrock, S., Lopez, D. et al. Testing the Effectiveness of a Motivational Interviewing Intervention to Reduce HIV Risk and Drug Use in Young Sexual Minority Men in a Community-Based Organization Setting. AIDS Behav 28, 26–42 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-023-04191-0

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