News Release

Larry K. Brown, M.D., receives AACAP Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Award for Scientific Achievement

Reports award-winning article in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Grant and Award Announcement

Elsevier

Washington D.C., October 26, 2012 – The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), is pleased to announce that Larry K. Brown, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, is the recipient of the AACAP Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Award for Scientific Achievement for his paper, "Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR): Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention in Alternative/Therapeutic Schools," published in the October 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and online at www.jaacap.org.1

The AACAP Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Award for Scientific Achievement is supported by the Nobert and Charlotte Rieger Foundation. The award recognizes the best paper, written by a child and adolescent psychiatrist, and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from July 2011 - June 2012.

Using data from 29 cohorts, Dr. Brown and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR), an HIV-prevention program for adolescents in alternative/therapeutic schools. The 14-session program was designed not only to improve HIV-related knowledge but also sexuality-specific affect management and cognitive monitoring for youth who experience difficulties with emotions and cognitions.

A total of 185 adolescents participated in the study from fourteen schools that were randomly assigned to receive either the STAR intervention or a short education program, and the alternate program the following year. The study found that the STAR intervention was associated with decreased sexual risk for the 6-month period following the intervention, with improvement in HIV knowledge and condom usage. The findings suggest the need for 'booster sessions' over time to reinforce learned skills and knowledge, and future studies to access the efficacy of the focus on affect management and cognitive monitoring in the STAR intervention.

Dr. Brown and colleagues are to be commended for their work on these high-risk behavioral outcomes, and for developing the first HIV prevention program to show a decrease in sexual risk by self-report for adolescents in alternative schools over 6 months.

Dr. Brown presented, "Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR): Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention in Alternative/Therapeutic Schools" at AACAP's 59th Annual Meeting, on October 25, 2012, in San Francisco.

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References:

1. Brown LK, Nugent NR, Houck CD et al. Safe Thinking and Affect Regulation (STAR): Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention in Alternative/Therapeutic Schools. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2011;50(10):1065-1074.

Notes for editors

Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Mary Billingsley at +1 202 966 7300 x105 or mbillingsley@jaacap.org. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Dr. Brown at lkbrown@lifespan.org.

All articles published in JAACAP are embargoed until 3PM ET of the day they are published as corrected proofs online. Articles cannot be publicized as accepted abstracts. Contents of the publication should not be released to or by the media or government agencies before this date.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)

Representing over 8,000 child and adolescent psychiatrists nationwide, AACAP is the leading national professional medical association dedicated to treating and improving the quality of life for children, adolescents, and families affected by mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders.

About JAACAP

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry is the flagship Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and is the leading journal focusing exclusively on today's psychiatric research and treatment of the child and adolescent. Published twelve times per year, each issue is committed to its mission of advancing the science of pediatric mental health and promoting the care of youth and their families.

JAACAP's goal is to advance the science of child and adolescent psychiatry by publishing original research and papers of theoretical, scientific, and clinical relevance to the field. JAACAP welcomes unpublished manuscripts whose primary focus is on the mental health of children, adolescents, and families. Submissions may come from diverse viewpoints including but not limited to: genetic, epidemiological, neurobiological, and psychopathological research; cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, and other psychotherapeutic investigations; parent-child, interpersonal, and family research; and, clinical and empirical research in inpatient, outpatient, consultation-liaison, and school-based settings. JAACAP also seeks to promote the well-being of children and families by publishing scholarly papers on such subjects as health policy, legislation, advocacy, culture and society, and service provision as they pertain to the mental health of children and families.

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Media contact

Mary Billingsley
JAACAP Editorial Office
+1 202 966 7300 x105
mbillingsley@jaacap.org


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