DRUGS USE, SOCIAL CONTEXT, AND HIV RISK IN HOMELESS YOUTH

描述（由申请人提供）：青少年和年轻人受艾滋病毒/艾滋病的影响不成比例，无家可归的青年感染艾滋病毒的可能性估计是居家青年的6-12倍。无家可归的青年吸毒率很高，并融入了包括经常吸毒者在内的社交网络。危险的性行为是这一人群感染的主要途径，很常见。了解无家可归青年吸毒和危险性行为的社会背景，对于旨在减少艾滋病毒在这一不断增长的人口中传播的干预工作至关重要。利用洛杉矶县13-23岁无家可归青年的概率样本，我们将采取创新和多方面的方法来解决以下目标：目标1：我们将首先进行72次定量社交网络访谈和45次定性性事件层面访谈，以更好地了解性行为和药物使用的社会背景。根据目标1的调查结果，我们将进行400次定量结构化访谈，以解决目标2-3。目标二：调查无家可归青年的社会网络特征如何与他们的吸毒模式相关联;调查无家可归青年的社会网络特征和吸毒如何与他们的性风险行为倾向相关联，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;目标3：调查特定性事件的特征和艾滋病相关的态度和信念与性风险行为的关系;并且，对于那些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无家可归青年的社会网络特征，药物使用，和艾滋病毒相关的信念和态度;目标4：最后，我们将进行60个事件层面的定性访谈，以进一步探讨，在社会背景下，吸毒和性风险行为之间的关系模式确定的目标2和3。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Adolescents and young adults are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, with homeless youth estimated to be 6-12 times more likely to become infected with HIV than home-based youth. Homeless youth have high rates of drug use and are embedded in social networks that include regular drug users. Risky sexual behavior, the primary route of infection in this population, is common. Understanding the social context of drug use and risky sex among homeless youth is critical to intervention efforts aimed at reducing the spread of HIV in this growing population. Using probability samples of homeless youth ages 13-23 in Los Angeles County, we will take an innovative and multifaceted approach to addressing the following aims: Aim 1: We will first conduct 72 quantitative social network interviews and 45 qualitative sexual event-level interviews to better understand the social context of sexual behaviors and drug use. Based on findings from Aim 1, we will conduct 400 quantitative structured interviews to address Aims 2-3. Aim 2: To investigate how the social network characteristics of homeless youth are associated with their patterns of drug use; and investigate how social network characteristics and drug use among homeless youth are associated with their propensity toward sexual risk behavior, and the extent to which HIV-related attitudes and beliefs mediate these associations; Aim 3: To investigate how characteristics of specific sexual events and HIV-related attitudes and beliefs are associated with sexual risk behavior; and, for those event-level characteristics found to be associated with sexual risk behavior, to determine how these characteristics are related to homeless youth's social network characteristics, drug use, and HIV-related beliefs and attitudes; Aim 4: Finally, we will conduct 60 event-level qualitative interviews to further explore, within a social context, the patterns of relationships between drug use and sexual risk behaviors identified in Aims 2 and 3.