ALCOHOL USE AND HIV RISK AMONG IMPOVERISHED WOMEN

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究将通过关注这些行为发生的社会背景，更全面地了解高度脆弱的贫困妇女人群中酒精使用/滥用与艾滋病毒风险行为之间的关系。将在洛杉矶县收容所对具有代表性的女性样本进行三个阶段的访谈：1）定量社交网络（N=60）和探索性定性性事件水平（N=45）访谈; 2）第1阶段提供的定量结构化访谈（N=460）;（3）第2阶段提供的定性事件水平访谈（N=60）。研究结果将为减少贫困妇女艾滋病毒风险的干预工作提供信息。 具体目标：（1）通过两种类型的探索性访谈来探索性行为和酒精使用/滥用的社会背景：定性访谈来检查最近的性事件，定量访谈来检查社交网络（第一阶段）;（2）调查女性的社会网络特征如何与她们的酒精使用/滥用模式相关联（第二阶段）;（3）通过个体水平的定量分析，调查女性的社会网络特征和酒精使用/滥用与其性风险行为倾向的关联，以及艾滋病毒相关态度和信念在多大程度上介导了这些关联（第2阶段）;（4）通过事件水平的定量分析，探讨特定性事件的特征、女性艾滋病相关态度和信念与其危险性行为的关系;而且，对于那些被发现与性风险行为相关的事件水平特征，确定这些特征如何与女性的社会网络特征、酒精使用/滥用和艾滋病毒相关态度相关（第2阶段）;（5）在社会背景下，通过事件层面的定性分析，进一步探讨目标2-4中确定的酒精使用/滥用与性风险行为之间的关系模式（第3阶段）。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This study will achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between alcohol use/misuse and HIV risk behaviors among the highly vulnerable population of impoverished women by attending to the social context in which these behaviors occur. Representative samples of women will be interviewed in Los Angeles County shelters in three Stages: 1) quantitative social network (N=60) and exploratory qualitative sexual event-level (N=45) interviews; 2) quantitative structured interviews (N=460) informed by Stage 1; (3) qualitative event-level interviews (N=60) informed by Stage 2. Study findings will inform intervention efforts to reduce HIV risk for impoverished women. Specific Aims: (1) To explore the social context of sexual behaviors and alcohol use/misuse through two types of exploratory interviews: a qualitative interview to examine recent sexual events and a quantitative interview to examine social networks (Stage 1); (2) To investigate how women's social network characteristics are associated with their patterns of alcohol use/misuse (Stage 2); (3) To investigate associations of women's social network characteristics and alcohol use/misuse with their propensity toward sexual risk behavior, and the extent to which HIV-related attitudes and beliefs mediate these associations, through individual-level quantitative analysis (Stage 2); (4) To investigate how characteristics of specific sexual events and women's HIV-related attitudes and beliefs are associated with their sexual risk behavior through event-level quantitative analysis; and, for those event-level characteristics found to be associated with sexual risk behavior, to determine how these characteristics are related to women's social network characteristics, alcohol use/misuse, and HIV-related attitudes (Stage 2); (5) To further explore, within a social context, the patterns of relationships between alcohol use/misuse and sexual risk behaviors identified in Aims 2-4 through event-level qualitative analysis (Stage 3).