Marijuana Use and HIV risk in African American Girls

描述（由申请人提供）：迫切需要解决美国非裔美国人，特别是非裔美国女性艾滋病毒/艾滋病的不成比例的比率。据推测，青少年吸毒和性行为的交叉加剧了他们感染艾滋病毒的风险。在马里兰州的巴尔的摩，对14-19岁的城市非裔美国女孩进行了为期3年的前瞻性队列研究，本研究旨在研究青少年恋爱关系中从大麻使用到艾滋病毒风险的2种途径。我们将首先检验这样的假设：女孩最近吸食大麻是青春期女孩群体中性传播感染事件的独立预测因素。其次，我们将通过测试性行为时使用大麻是否与持续使用避孕套有关来解决去抑制途径。最后，将审查从女孩最近使用大麻到性传播感染事件的第二条途径。具体来说，我们将测试是否合作伙伴的特点（即年龄较大），调解协会 之间的女孩的大麻使用和性传播感染的结果，并确定是否合作伙伴大麻使用混淆女孩的大麻使用和性传播感染之间的关联。更好的理解将 有助于制定更有效的艾滋病毒预防方案。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is an urgent need to address the disproportionate rates of HIV/AIDS among African Americans in the United States, particularly African American females. It has been postulated that the intersection of drug use and sexual behavior among adolescents exacerbates their risk for HIV. Using a 3 year prospective cohort study of urban African American girls, ages 14-19, in Baltimore, MD, this study proposes to examine 2 pathways from marijuana use to risk for HIV within adolescent romantic relationships. We will first test the hypothesis that girls' recent marijuana use is an independent predictor of incident STI in this population of adolescent girls. Second, we will address the disinhibition pathway by testing whether marijuana use at the time sex is associated with consistent condom use. Finally, a second pathway leading from girls' recent marijuana use to incident STI will be examined. Specifically, we will test whether partner characteristics (i.e. older age), mediate the association between girl's marijuana use and STI outcome and determine whether partner marijuana use confounds the association between girl's marijuana use and STI. An improved understanding will contribute to the development of more effective HIV prevention programs.