The purpose of this paper is to present a critique of the following article:
Slonim-Nevo, V., Auslander, W. F., Ozawa, M. N. & Jung, K. G. (1996). The long-term impact of AIDS-preventive interventions for delinquent and abused adolescents. Adolescence, 31(122), 409-421.
The study tested the hypotheses that delinquent and/or abused adolescents participating in an intensive AIDS-prevention programs known to produce short-term benefits would, at a long-term follow-up, produce several positive outcomes. These outcomes were that those exposed to the intensive AIDS-prevention programs would know more about AIDS, engage in fewer unsafe activities, experienced an increased capacity for handling high-risk AIDS situations, and hold more positive attitudes toward AIDS interventions, than would a control group of their peers. The study's hypotheses were logically derived from an extensive review of the pertinent literature in which 30 previous studies (all from reputable scientific journals) were cited and discussed in relation to the conducted research.
Significance of Problem For Social Work Practice
Every day social workers must deal with troubled, abused and/or neglected adolescents. A substantial part of this work includes helping these young people to obtain the knowledge and skills need to prevent themselves from contracting the HIV virus. The conducted study, despite its flaws, provides social workers with at least some preliminary information in working with the abused, neglected or psychoemotionally troubled adolescent population. Specifically, the study can inform social workers as to what type of AIDS-prevention intervention might be best for use with this population; and can be used by social workers to either develop and implement prevention programs they will lead or to make referrals to appropriate prevention programs.
This study examined whether two types of AIDS-prevention interventions (a skill-oriente...