UNDERSTANDING THE SEXUALITY OF MEXICAN-BORN WOMEN AND THEIR RISK FOR HIV/AIDS

Participants in this study were 300 Mexican women of rural origin who were born and raised in villages of that country and who belong to one of three groups: married and living with their husbands in Los Angeles, California ( n = 100), married to migrant workers but living in Mexico ( n = 100), and living in Mexico with their spouses ( n = 100). Trained female professionals conducted face-to-face interviews in Spanish, in Mexico and in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify specific sexual practices, coping strategies in sex-related situations, and fears and concerns regarding sexual intercourse. This article analyzes how these elements place Mexican ruralorigin women at risk for HIV/AIDS. It discusses the need to design intervention strategies to prevent HIV/AIDS that take into consideration the limited power of women in traditional societies and the cultural precepts that promote gender roles characterized by male dominance and female submissiveness in the sexual arena.     

Predictors of Condom Use in Mexican Migrant Laborers

The purpose of this study was to explore predictors of condom use with occasional sex partners and regular sex partners, as well as carrying condoms in a new high-risk group for HIV infection, Mexican migrant laborers. This study extends previous findings by (1) exploring additional predictors not previously examined, (2) utilizing a large sample of male and female Mexican migrant laborers, (3) carefully controlling for the effects of various demographic and lifestyle variables related to condom use, and (4) assessing the interactive effects of gender on predictors of condom use. Snowball sampling was used to survey 501 adult Mexican migrant laborers. Results revealed that condom use with occasional sex partners was predicted by carrying condoms and condom self-efficacy and that women were more likely to use condoms with occasional partners when both men and women knew someone with HIV/AIDS. Condom use with regular sex partners was predicted by procondom social norms, less negative attitudes toward condoms, not knowing someone with HIV/AIDS, and condom self-efficacy. Carrying condoms was predicted by procondom social norms, less negative attitudes toward condoms, condom self-efficacy, worry about contracting HIV/AIDS, and women were more likely than men to carry condoms when both men and women were married. Understanding these findings, future research directions, and implications for condom promotion strategies with Mexican migrant laborers are discussed.     

Sexual Communication in Relationships: When Words Speak Louder Than Actions

Sexual communication for expressing sexual desires and gathering HIV risk information were examined as interpersonal constructs related to HIV risk reduction. Community women (n = 816) with at least one heterosexual HIV risk factor (79% Euro-American, 86% some college) completed surveys assessing assertive communication with a sexual partner, HIV risk, and demographic, sexual history, interpersonal negative, and cognitive/attitudinal constructs which formed a hierarchical predictor model. In relationship context comparisons, women with a known partner HIV risk responded more negatively on most measures. Multiple regressions suggested communication is part of an overall cognitive/attitudinal approach to HIV risk, although specific predictors differ by type of communication and partner risk level. Implications for interventions considering relational context, interpersonal power, and counteracting silence are discussed.     

Social Dominance Orientation Relates to Believing Men Should Dominate Sexually, Sexual Self-Efficacy, and Taking Free Female Condoms Among Undergraduate Women and Men

Gendered-based power affects heterosexual relationships, with beliefs in the U.S. prescribing that men dominate women sexually. We draw on social dominance theory to examine whether women??s and men??s level of support for group-based hierarchy (i.e., social dominance orientation; SDO) helps explain gender-based power beliefs and dynamics in heterosexual relationships. We conducted a laboratory study at a Northeastern U.S. university among 357 women and 126 men undergraduates who reported being heterosexual and sexually active, testing three sets of hypotheses. First, as hypothesized, women endorsed SDO and the belief that men should dominate sexually less than men did. Second, as hypothesized, among women and men, SDO was positively correlated with the belief that men should dominate sexually, and negatively correlated with sexual self-efficacy (confidence in sexual situations) and number of female condoms (a woman-controlled source of protection) taken. Third, structural equation modeling, controlling for age, family income, number of sexual partners in the past month, and perceived HIV/AIDS risk, supported the hypothesis that among women and men, the belief that men should dominate sexually mediates SDO??s association with sexual self-efficacy. The hypothesis that the belief that men should dominate sexually mediates SDO??s association with number of female condoms taken was supported for women only. The hypothesis that sexual self-efficacy mediates SDO??s association with number of female condoms taken was not supported. Results suggest SDO influences power beliefs and dynamics in heterosexual relationships. Although female condoms are an important woman-controlled source of protection, power-related beliefs may pose a challenge to their use.     

HIV/STD Risk Factors for Women with Violent Male Partners

This study compared 167 women, categorized as nonabused, emotionally abused, or physically abused in their primary relationships, on sexual risk factors. Physically abused women differed in several ways: greater STD risk, psychosocial distress, and substance use; more traditional gender role beliefs; lower self-esteem; more likely to have been raped and to engage in sex for pay; and less likely to attend the project's STD/HIV risk reduction groups. Within primary relationships, they differed in amount of decision-making power about safer sex, likelihood of nonmonogamy, use of substances before sex, and self-efficacy about initiating condom use. African American women reported higher rates of emotional abuse than White women, a finding related mainly to their lower socioeconomic status in this sample.     

Comparison of Marine and College Women's HIV/AIDS-Relevant Sexual Behaviors1

This study compares the heterosexual risk behaviors, perceptions of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and predictors of condom use of two groups of women with very different sexual and contraceptive histories and habits–college women and women in Marine Corps recruit training. The Marines' s]exual behaviors put them at greater risk of contracting HIV than the college students; that is, Marines reported more frequent intercourse with more partners, used condoms less frequently, and had less knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission. Consistent with these differences, college students displayed a larger illusion of unique invulnerability than did the Marines. In general, the women who had more sexual partners and more frequent sexual intercourse were less likely to report regularly using condoms. In addition, the data provide support for Weinstein and Nicholich's (1993) recent suggestion that the relation between risk perception and risk behavior is different for different groups of people.     

Alcohol use, expectancies, and sexual sensation seeking as correlates of HIV risk behavior in heterosexual young adults.

Most theoretical models of HIV risk behavior have not considered the role of personality factors, and few studies have examined mechanisms accounting for dispositional influences on sexual risk taking. This study elaborated on a conceptual model emphasizing sexual sensation seeking, alcohol expectancies, and drinking before sex as key predictors of HIV risk (S. C. Kalichman, L. Tannenbaum, & D. Nachimson, 1998). Multiple groups structural equation modeling was used to determine whether gender moderated relationships among these variables in a sample of 611 heterosexual, young adult drinkers (49% women, 76% Caucasian, mean age = 25 years). The model provided an excellent fit to the data, and gender differences were not substantiated. Sexual sensation seeking predicted HIV risk directly as well as indirectly via sex-related alcohol expectancies and drinking in sexual contexts. Findings suggest that expectancies and drinking before sex represent proximal mechanisms through which dispositional factors influence sexual risk outcomes. Moreover, these relationships appear to be similar in men and women. Interventions could benefit from targeting alcohol expectancies and drinking before sex in individuals with a dispositional tendency toward sexual risk taking.     

Predictors of Risky and Precautionary Sexual Behaviors Among Single and Married White Women1

Risky and precautionary sexual behaviors were examined in a community sample of 260 single and married/cohabitating White women. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the ability of age, socioeconomic status (SES), marital status, religiosity, and 9 health belief constructs to predict risky sexual behavior with one's partner, using a barrier method of birth control, unintended pregnancies, and number of sexual partners in the past year. The pattern of results suggests that single White women appear to feel more vulnerable to HIV and STD infection and more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than do married White women. The discussion focuses on the importance of sociocultural factors in understanding risk behaviors within the social context of relationship status, the complexity of the concept of risk reduction, and the need for going beyond the health belief model in order to develop different HIV prevention strategies for single and married White women.     

Risky Sexual Behaviour Among Married and Cohabiting Women and its Implication for Sexually Transmitted Infections in Mahikeng,South Africa

Risky sexual behaviour continues to be the main means through which sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV are spread in South Africa. However few studies have assessed risky sexual behaviour among married and cohabiting women in this high HIV prevalence country. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the prevalence and identify the predictors of risky sexual behaviour among married and cohabiting women in Mahikeng Local Municipality where HIV is generalized. The study used cross-sectional mixed methods data obtained from 568 women responding to a survey and 33 women participating in in-depth interviews in 2012. All the women were aged 18–49 years, married or cohabiting and were residing in rural and urban areas of Mahikeng Local Municipality at the time of the study. The data was analyzed by the use of the Chi square statistic and a parsimonious binary logistic regression model, and the thematic content analysis method. The study found that 4 in 10 of the women experienced risky sexual behaviour, which was significantly predicted by being in marriage or cohabitation for <5 years, having a partner working in agriculture, government and mining sectors, having sex to achieve motherhood, having the perception by the women that they were unlikely to contract STIs, having the belief that partners have the right to use force to obtain sex and having partners who were unwilling to use condoms. All the above predictors were exacerbated by culturally sanctioned gender inequality and structural factors. The findings suggest that risky sexual behaviour is prevalent among married and cohabiting women in the study area which has serious implication for the marital transmission of STIs and HIV. We suggest interventions that enhance gender equality in sexual decisions and initiatives that encourage men to change their sexual beliefs and values.     

Using the Theory of Gender and Power to Examine Experiences of Partner Violence,Sexual Negotiation,and Risk of HIV/AIDS Among Economically Disadvantaged Women in Southern India

This article uses the Theory of Gender and Power to examine women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in order to: understand the vulnerability of female sex workers/poor women due to poverty and lack of educational resources; explore women's vulnerability in the context of client/partner violence, alcohol use, male partner's high-risk behaviors, and women's lack of control in their intimate relationships; and explore the role of traditional heterosexual gender norms in the outcomes of sexual negotiation. Ethnographic data were collected from 32 women and 38 men in India as part of an ongoing National Institute of Mental Health study. Results highlighted women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS stemming from partner violence, alcohol use, poverty, dangers of sex work environments, and tacit acceptance of cultural/gender norms.     

Factors affecting behaviors that address HIV risk among senior secondary school pupils in South Africa.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting HIV risk reduction among senior secondary school pupils in South Africa. The sample included 460 Grade 12, Secondary School pupils whose ages ranged from 16 to 30 years (M = 19.7 yr., SD = 2.5) and who were chosen at random from the total Grade 12 population throughout one region in the Northern Province of South Africa. Measures were of sexual behavior and condom use, knowledge about correct condom use, intention of condom use, behavioral norms, attitudes, normative beliefs, and subjective norms about condoms, HIV/AIDS vulnerability (likelihood to get it) and severity of the illness in the country, and condom use self-efficacy. Bivariate analysis gave positive significant relations among normative beliefs, subjective norms, and attitudes towards condom use as well as HIV/AIDS vulnerability and HIV risk behavior. Regression analysis indicated that for boys, younger age at first vaginal intercourse, less intention for condom use, and HIV/AIDS vulnerability were predictive for HIV/AIDS risk behavior and explained 39% of the variance. It is suggested that these predictors should be included in intervention programs for HIV prevention.     

HIV risk perceptions and first sexual intercourse among youth in Cape Town South Africa

CONTEXT: HIV prevalence is high among South African youth. Health behavior models posit that the perceived level of risk of HIV infection is associated with the level of HIV risk behavior; however, there has been limited research in Sub-Saharan Africa on factors associated with perceived risk or on the relationship between perceived risk and risk behaviors. METHODS: Longitudinal data collected in 2002 and 2005 from 3,017 black, colored and white youth in Cape Town, South Africa, were analyzed using multivariate regression to examine whether a reciprocal relationship exists between sexual experience and perceived HIV risk. Independent variables taken from the 2002 survey were used to predict dependent variables taken from the 2005 survey. RESULTS: In 2005, most youth (82% of males and 83% of females) viewed themselves as being at no or small risk of HIV infection. A reciprocal relationship in which higher perceived HIV risk was associated with a delay in sexual debut (odds ratio, 0.8) and sexual experience was associated with higher perceived risk (1.4) was found for females, but not for males. Knowing someone who had died of AIDS was associated with sexual debut and with an elevated perceived HIV risk among females (1.7 and 1.3, respectively). The associations between race and perceived risk of HIV infection varied by gender. CONCLUSIONS: HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs should consider more carefully how gender and race may intersect to influence risk perceptions and risk behaviors. In addition, possible reciprocal relationships between risk behaviors and risk perceptions should be considered in education and intervention programs.     

An Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS Prevention Program in a Nigerian Setting

The study examined the success of a group based behavioural intervention with Nigerian youths aimed at reducing the risk of contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted illness (STI). Participants were 147 youths (males=75, females=72, age range 5 to 24 years). The study explored the influence of motivational factors (self efficacy), attitudinal factors (perceived personal risk), knowledge (instrumental knowledge of AIDS) and behavioural factors (refusal of high-risk behaviour) in predicting condom use amongst youth participating in a group-based HIV prevention intervention. Findings indicated that the intervention program reliably predicted participants' attitudinal dispositions to high risk heterosexual behaviour. Instrumental knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceived self-efficacy, perceived personal risk of HIV/AIDS and refusal of risk behaviour were significant predictors of condom use.     

Heterosexual Attendance at Gay Events: The 2002 Parada Livre Festival in Porto Alegre,Brazil

This paper reports on a quantitative survey designed to characterize the public who attended Parada Livre 2002, a festival in Porto Alegre, Brazil organized around free sexual expression. Of particular interest was attendance at the event by heterosexual-identified individuals, a sub-population generally ignored in research to date on large-scale events of this sort. Questionnaires were completed by 176 Parada attendees. The questionnaires covered demographics, social movement participation, attitudes about HIV/AIDS and homosexuality, and motivations for attending the festival. Analysis gauged significant differences by gender and sexual orientation. Slightly more than half (52.1%) of the sample self-identified as heterosexual. Compared to attendees with non-normative sexual identities, heterosexuals were more likely to be women and less likely to be politically engaged in terms of social movement participation. Heterosexual attendees were slightly less gay-positive, but no less likely to know a lesbian, gay or travesti, or person with HIV/AIDS. Implications of study findings for scholarly understandings of cultural and political organization around sexual diversity in Brazil are discussed.

The Influence of Gender-related Factors on HIV Prevention among Chinese Women with Disrupted Marital Relationship

Two-hundred-and-thirty-one Chinese women were individually interviewed on their HIV-prevention behavior and gender-related psychosocial factors. Compared to women with intact marriages, women with marital disruption endorsed more inaccurate information about HIV/AIDS, had less worry about contracting HIV from their husbands, and were less likely to use condoms in current and future sexual activities. Among sexually active Chinese married women, rates of condom use in the past 6 months were 60% for the intact group and 38% for the disrupted group. Factors that discriminated between condom non-users and users among sexually active women in the disrupted group included: conservative gender attitudes toward sexuality and sexual decision-making, negative attitudes toward condom use, and lack of concern about contracting HIV from their husbands.     

The Catholic Church,moral doctrine,and HIV prevention in Recife,Brazil: Negotiating the contradictions between religious belief and the realities of everyday life

Religious beliefs have had a key role in shaping local responses to HIV and AIDS. As the world's largest Catholic country, Brazil is no exception. Yet little research has been conducted to document how religious doctrine is enacted in practice among its lay leaders and followers. In this article, we present ethnographic research from Recife, Brazil, conducted to understand the way in which religious doctrines are interpreted at a local level. Contextualised within the sociology of contemporary Brazilian Catholicism, we draw on interviews with clergy members, lay leaders, and parishioners to discuss how the Catholic Church's vision of sexuality translates into everyday lives of its followers. We explore the disjuncture between the Catholic ideals of fidelity and delaying sex until marriage with the everyday reality of the Church's followers, highlighting the role that gender plays in defining sexual roles and expectations. We conclude by posing questions for future research and HIV prevention strategies considering the formal institutional response of the Brazilian Catholic Church to AIDS on the one hand, and the social and cultural contexts in which Catholics live their daily lives on the other.     

Gender Relations and HIV Transmission in North-Central Nigeria

Nigeria’s most recent National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey of 2012 shows a decline in the national prevalence rate from 3.6% in 2007 to 3.0% in 2012. Despite this moderate decrease, the rate for the North-central geopolitical zone: (5.7 and 3.4%, respectively) remained higher than the national average for both years. Besides, virtually all of the HIV and AIDS surveys conducted in Nigeria from 1999 till date have consistently shown higher rates among females than males. For instance, it was 4.0 and 3.5% among females; and 3.5 and 3.3% in males in 2007 and 2012 respectively. UNAIDS reported that studies on the mode of transmission in 2008 found the bulk of new infections among cohabiting and married sexual partners who are not engaged in high risk sex (42.2%) compared to casual heterosexual sex (9.1%) and sex workers (3.4%). Higher vulnerability among married females implies higher risk of parent to child transmission, yet married women are perceived as a “low risk” group. Against this backdrop, I studied some gender related socio-cultural factors that influence HIV transmission among married women in two ethnic groups in North-central Nigeria. Results of the qualitative study conducted through 24 in-depth interviews and 36 focus group discussions in six communities indicate that marital consent; women’s poor access to safe sex; double standards in marital sexual practices; gender based violence against women; among others influence the spread of HIV infection in married heterosexual couples. In conclusion, marriage does not necessarily reduce HIV vulnerability in women.     

Intended Sex With Fewer Partners: An Empirical Test of the AIDS Risk Reduction Model Among Injection Drug Users1

The AIDS risk reduction model (ARRM) is a theory-based representation of psychosocial processes by which people may attempt to change their HIV risk behavior. This study tests the degree to which hypothesized relationships among ARRM factors are consistent with cross-sectional data collected from a sample of HIV-negative injection drug users in Los Angeles, California. The data pertain to users' intentions to reduce HIV transmission risk incurred through sex with multiple partners. Findings conform to ARRM hypotheses in some important respects. In particular, findings suggest that perceived self-efficacy for sexual risk reduction may be a crucial factor leading to the formation of intentions to change sex-related HIV risk behavior.     

“Getting to Know”: Exploring How Urban African American Women Conceptualize Safer and Risky Sexual Behaviors

The surge in the rate of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases continues to be most prevalent for African American women between the ages of 18 and 29, with heterosexual transmission remaining the primary cause of HIV spread for this population. The high rates of HIV/AIDS among African American women continue to emphasize the need for understanding how members of this population conceptualize sexual safety and risk. A qualitative research study using grounded theory methods was conducted to explore how African American women define safer and risky sexual behaviors. Interviews were conducted with 14 African American women between the ages of 18 and 29. The study findings suggest that African American women’s definitions of safer and risky sexual behaviors, while in a consensual sexual relationship, are consistently influenced by sex partner type. The information garnered from this study can help inform the development of HIV prevention strategies, health education, counseling and reproductive health services that support African American women’s wellness.