The project will be conducted by U.S. and South African research groups who have each, independently, worked together in their respective countries for at least 7 years on research projects related to public mental health issues. The longstanding research groups' collaboration will be supported by a detailed plan for coordination of efforts at three study sites: Chicago, New York, and Durban, South Africa. Strong community collaboration has supported the development of the current application. U.S. and South African investigators' collaboration will be guided by the following specific aims: 1) To use their confluence of parallel interests to create a synergy and a common mission - to learn from each other on how to best prevent HIV/AIDS, 2) To establish a Collaborative Board in Kwadedangendlale (a high risk community for HIV infection) consisting of university researchers, community stakeholders, and CHAMP collaborators, 3) To adapt the CHAMP Family Program materials and assessments to fit the sociocultural context of South Africa, 4) To experimentally test the South African version of CHAMP with 450 preadolescents and their families in Kwadedangendlale randomly assigned to one of two study conditions: a) CHAMP Family Program or; b) existing school-based HIV prevention curriculum, and 5) to build the capacity of South African health educators and community representatives to conduct sustainable family-based HIV prevention programming and research. If our efforts are successful youth involved in the CHAMP Family Program will evidence lower levels of HIV risk behavior and demonstrate greater comfort discussing sensitive topics with their adult caregivers and increased peer negotiation skills and greater HIV/AIDS knowledge; adult caregivers who have been in the CHAMP Family Program will report increased HIV/AIDS knowledge; and South African Board members will evidence increased leadership skills, interaction with community institutions, and efficacy and psychological empowerment over time.
