The effects of a brief cognitive -behavioral group intervention on the depression and hopelessness of drug dependent, human immunodeficiency virus -positive, African -American women

This study examined the use of a brief (6-week) cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for African-American women who were injection drug users (IDU) and/or drug dependent and had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This exploration addressed the void in research on African-American women who are drug dependent and HIV-positive. To date, such research has been conducted primarily on groups of caucasian gay men. More significantly, the psychotherapeutic community and mental health practitioners have few programs or interventions to meet the needs of HIV-infected women.;A convenience sample of 50 women was divided into a control (N = 25) and an experimental (N = 25) group, designed to evaluate the impact of a brief CBT on levels of depression and hopelessness. The Beck-II Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) were given to each group as pretest and posttest instruments for measuring the levels of depression and hopelessness. The data acquired from this study were analyzed by using the appropriate paired t tests and independent t tests, depending on the underlying data structure and hypothesis being tested. The pre- and post-score comparisons for the experimental and control groups were done using paired t tests, and then the differences for the experimental and control groups were compared using a standard t test. All tests were one-sided hypothesis tests.;Results indicated a significant decrease in BDI-II and BHS scores among the experimental group. Further analysis of both test results suggested that brief group CBT decreased depression and hopelessness. Therefore, CBT intervention appeared to mitigate depression and hopelessness with IDU and/or drug dependent, HIV-positive, African-American women who were receiving drug addiction rehabilitative services and HIV medical attention.;Based on the significant decrease in the BDI-II and BHS scores for the experimental group, the CBT intervention had a positive effect. These results suggest that African-American women who are drug dependent and HIV positive, often characterized by substance abuse, depression, and hopelessness, can gain the resources they need through CBT intervention, substance abuse treatment, and medication compliance to improve the quality of their lives.