Intimate Partner Violence and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Risk Among Black and Hispanic Women

• Published in: American journal of preventive medicine Vol. 47; no. 6; pp. 689 - 702
• Main Authors: Morales-Alemán, Mercedes M., PhD, Hageman, Kathy, PhD, MPH, Gaul, Zaneta J., MSPH, Le, Binh, MD, Paz-Bailey, Gabriela, MD, PhD, MPH, Sutton, Madeline Y., MD, MPH
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01-12-2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Black or African American; Black People; Blacks; Condoms; Demographics; Drugs; Female; Health Promotion - methods; Health Promotion - organization & administration; Heterosexuals; Hispanic or Latino; Hispanics; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - etiology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Internal Medicine; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Needs Assessment; Poverty; Prevalence; Prevention and actions; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Rape - prevention & control; Rape - psychology; Rape - statistics & numerical data; Risk; Risk Factors; Safe Sex - ethnology; Safe Sex - psychology; Sexual Partners - psychology; Socioeconomic Factors; Spouse Abuse - ethnology; Spouse Abuse - psychology; United States - epidemiology; Victimology; Violence; Violence - ethnology; Violence - prevention & control; Violence - psychology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Women; United States; Human; Marital relation; Immunopathology; Retroviridae; Risk; AIDS; Victimology; Latinamerican; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Infection; Virus; Mistreatment; Viral disease; Intimate partner violence; Risk factor; Female; Human immunodeficiency virus; Woman; Hispanic
• ISSN: 0749-3797; 1873-2607; 1873-2607
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.08.007

Background Approximately 80% of new HIV infections among U.S. women are among black/African American and Hispanic women. HIV risk may be associated with intimate partner violence (IPV); data regarding IPV for women in high–HIV prevalence areas are scarce. Purpose To examine prevalence and correlates of IPV among women. Methods Heterosexual women and their male partners in cities with high HIV prevalence were enrolled. During 2006–2007, participants completed interviews about HIV risk factors and IPV (physical violence or forced sex) experiences. Data were analyzed during 2012–2013 using multivariate logistic regression to identify individual- and partner-level IPV correlates. Results Of 1,011 female respondents, 985 (97.4%) provided risk factor and demographic data. Most were non-Hispanic black/African American (82.7%); living at or below poverty (86.7%); and tested HIV-negative (96.8%). IPV–physical violence was reported by 29.1%, and IPV–forced sex by 13.7%. Being married/living with a partner (AOR=1.60, 95% CI=1.06, 2.40); non-injection drug use (AOR=1.74, 95% CI=1.22, 2.48); and ever discussing male partners’ number of current sex partners (AOR=1.60, 95% CI=1.15, 2.24) were associated with IPV–physical violence. Women reporting concurrent sex partners (AOR=1.80, 95% CI=1.04, 3.13) and ever discussing number of male partners’ past sex partners (AOR=1.85, 95% CI=1.13, 3.05) were associated with IPV–forced sex. Feeling comfortable asking a male partner to use condoms was associated with decreased IPV–physical violence (AOR=0.32, 95% CI=0.16,0.64) and –forced sex (AOR=0.37, 95% CI=0.16, 0.85). Conclusions Prevention interventions that enhance women’s skills to decrease HIV and IPV risk are important strategies for decreasing racial/ethnic disparities among women.