# Brief Group MI Intervention for AOD and Sexual Risk Behavior in Homeless Youth

> **NIH NIH R01** · RAND CORPORATION · 2021 · $471,168

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Homeless emerging adults (18-25 year olds) have alarmingly high rates of alcohol and other drug use (AOD), which
is associated with a range of sexual risk behaviors such as unprotected sex, trading sex, and sex with multiple
casual partners. Few risk reduction programs for this population have been developed and rigorously evaluated,
particularly those that address both of these interrelated behaviors, use a collaborative and non-judgmental
approach, and are feasible to deliver in settings where homeless young people seek services. Our team recently
developed and pilot tested AWARE, a brief Motivational Interviewing (MI)-informed group risk reduction intervention
for homeless 18-25 year olds that incorporates education, skills building, and personalized feedback. AWARE
consists of four 45-minute sessions that focus on both AOD use and sexual risk behavior. Pilot results demonstrate
the acceptability and feasibility of AWARE, as well as positive effects on AOD and sexual risk behavior outcomes
over a 3 month period. The proposed R01 continues this line of research by conducting a larger-scale evaluation of
AWARE. In collaboration with four agencies serving homeless youth in Southern California, we propose to
randomize N=400 homeless 18-25 year olds to receive either the AWARE program or standard drop-in center care
and evaluate substance use and sexual risk behavior at 3, 6, and 12 month follow-up. In addition, we will
significantly extend our pilot work by evaluating whether AWARE, by motivating homeless emerging adults to make
healthier choices, has positive secondary effects on health-related quality of life and social stability. Finally, we will
examine the effects of group-level change talk (one hypothesized mechanism of action for group MI) on individual
AOD and sexual risk behavior outcomes. Results from this innovative study have the potential to fill a significant
gap in prevention services for homeless emerging adults by demonstrating that a brief intervention, feasible to
deliver within settings where this population typically seeks services, can significantly reduce the interrelated
problems of AOD use and sexual risk behavior.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10147628
- **Project number:** 5R01AA025641-04
- **Recipient organization:** RAND CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** JOAN S TUCKER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $471,168
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-05 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10147628

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10147628, Brief Group MI Intervention for AOD and Sexual Risk Behavior in Homeless Youth (5R01AA025641-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10147628. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*