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洲裔美国人，特别是非洲裔美国女性中不成比例的艾滋病毒/艾滋病发病率。据推测，青少年吸毒和性行为的交叉会加剧他们感染艾滋病毒的风险。本研究对马里兰州巴尔的摩市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，旨在研究青少年恋爱关系中从吸食大麻到感染艾滋病毒的两种途径。我们将首先测试一个假设，即女孩最近吸食大麻是这一青春期女孩群体中性传播感染事件的独立预测因子。其次，我们将通过测试在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，将研究从女孩最近吸食大麻到性传播感染的第二条途径。具体来说，我们将测试伴侣特征（即年龄）是否介导了这种关联

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.