ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE WITH HIV RISK BEHAVIORS IN ADOLESCENCE AND YOUNG ADULTHOOD: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

• NCJ Number: 147503
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 233- 245
• Author(s): R M Cunningham; A R Stiffman; P Dore; F Earls
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1 RO 1 MH45118-01
• Sponsoring Agency: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The relationship between changes in HIV risk behaviors and physical and sexual abuse was studied using a stratified random sample of 602 youths, who were part of a sample of 2,787 patients seen consecutively in public health clinics in 10 cities.

Abstract

Personal interviews conducted in 1984-85, 1985-86, and 1989-90 provided a history of changes in risk behavior from adolescence to young adulthood in these youths. Univariate and bivariate analyses assessed differences in demographics and the number and type of risk behaviors between those experiencing single or multiple types of abuse and those with no abuse history. Results revealed that the sample was 76 percent female, 70 percent black, 24 percent white, and 6 percent other. A history of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or rape was related to engaging in a variety of HIV risk behaviors and to a continuation or increase in the total number of these behaviors between adolescence and young adulthood. These findings might aid practitioners in both preventing initial involvement in HIV risk behaviors and preventing the continuation of behaviors as youths move into young adulthood. Figures, tables, and 14 references (Author abstract modified)