HIV prevention: People wanting information about HIV prevention feel more comfortable getting it from people who look like them, according to a new University of Florida study.

The findings contradict the widely held belief that experts are more effective than peers in successful HIV prevention campaigns. The study found that the most effective resources are experts whose gender and ethnicity match those of the patients seeking guidance. People who want to prevent HIV or need advice after a diagnosis often feel more comfortable talking with someone of their race and gender.

“We found that the best experts for prevention among African-American women are African-American and female. If you look at physicians, nurses, psychologists and many other health professionals, many of them are White. So to find those experts with racial and gender matching isn’t always easy,” said Dr. Dolores Albarracin, who with Dr. Marta R. Durantini authored the study published in the March Psychological Bulletin.

The study involved a comprehensive statistical analysis from 166 HIV prevention interventions, and included published and unpublished works. Interventions consist of programs sponsored by experts and peer leaders, visits to medical professionals and programs led by peers.

Diverse schools: Offering yet more proof about the value of diversity in education, a new study has found that middle school students are more likely to feel safer, less bullied and less lonely in ethnically diverse schools.

Conducted by psychologists from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Davis, the study has implications for higher education.

“Bullying happens in every school, and many students are concerned about their safety. However, our analysis shows students feel safer in ethnically diverse classrooms and schools,” says Dr. Jaana Juvonen, a professor of psychology at UCLA and lead author of the study. The research, published in the May issue of the journal Psychological Science, is based on evaluations of more than 70 sixth-grade classrooms in 11 Los Angeles public middle schools.