Sexual Risk-Taking Among High-Risk Urban Women with and without Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Mediating Effects of Contextual Factors

• NCJ Number: 230280
• Journal: Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: January-February 2010 Pages: 43-61
• Author(s): Katie E. Mosack; Mary E. Randolph; Julia Dickson-Gomez; Maryann Abbott; Ellen Smith; Margaret R. Weeks
• Date Published: January 2010
• Length: 19 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 MH63631; R01 MH069088; P30-MH52776
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the role of contextual variables in predicting HIV risk behavior.

Abstract

This study investigated the mechanisms of risk for urban women at high risk for HIV with and without childhood sexual abuse histories. Childhood sexual abuse survivors reported more unprotected intercourse and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The association of STI locus of control with frequency of unprotected sex was fully mediated by being intoxicated during sex and engaging in sex work, whereas the association between relational control and unprotected sex was not mediated by contextual factors for the childhood sexual abuse group. The mechanisms of risk are different for those with divergent childhood sexual abuse histories and thus interventions should be developed to educate women with a history of childhood sexual abuse about ways to avoid revictimization, particularly within a context of poverty, prostitution, and drug use. Figures, tables, and references (Published Abstract)