The Impact of Drugs on the Sexual Behavior of African American Male Inmates

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Though African American males comprise only seven percent of the United States (U.S.) population; they currently represent 50 percent of the prison population. The few published studies conducted on prison sexual behavior suggest that African American males are disproportionately involved in high-risk sexual behavior in prison. Very few institutions routinely report information regarding the full range of sexual behavior in their facilities, and virtually nothing is known about drug abuse and its relationship to inmates' involvement in sexual behavior in this environment. The proposed research study seeks to address gaps in prior research by examining the nature of sexual behavior among African American males in prisons, and the extent to which drug abuse prior to incarceration and within prison is associated with it. We will also explore the extent to which drug abuse mediates (or explains) the relationship between a broad range of prisoner characteristics related to oppressive living conditions in prison (deprivation factors) and prisoner characteristics that were present before entry into prison (importation factors) thought to be associated with sexual misconduct in prisons. A validated anonymous and confidential self-report questionnaire will be administered to 128 incarcerated African American males housed within one of the United States' largest maximum-security male correctional institutions, located in the northeast.