ALCOHOL USE AND HIV RISK AMONG IMPOVERISHED WOMEN

描述(申请人提供)：这项研究将通过关注发生这些行为的社会背景，更全面地了解贫困妇女中高度脆弱的人群中酒精使用/误用与艾滋病毒危险行为之间的关系。具有代表性的妇女样本将在洛杉矶县收容所分三个阶段接受采访：1)定量社会网络(N=60)和探索性定性事件级别的采访(N=45)；2)阶段1提供的定量结构化采访(N=460)；(3)阶段2提供的定性事件级别的采访(N=60)。研究结果将为减少贫困妇女艾滋病毒风险的干预努力提供信息。 具体目标：(1)通过两种类型的探索性访谈来探索性行为和酗酒/滥用的社会背景：考察近期性行为的定性访谈和考察社交网络的定量访谈(阶段1)；(2)调查女性的社交网络特征如何与她们的饮酒/滥用模式相关联(阶段2)；(3)通过个人层面的定量分析，调查女性的社交网络特征和饮酒/滥用与其性行为倾向之间的关系，以及与艾滋病毒有关的态度和信念在多大程度上调节这些关系(阶段2)；(4)通过事件级别的量化分析，调查特定性行为的特征和妇女与艾滋病毒相关的态度和信念与其性风险行为之间的关系；以及，对于那些被发现与性风险行为有关的事件级别特征，确定这些特征与女性的社会网络特征、酒精使用/误用以及与艾滋病毒相关的态度之间的关系(阶段2)；(5)通过事件级别的定性分析(阶段3)，在社会背景下进一步探索酒精使用/误用与目标2-4中确定的性风险行为之间的关系模式。

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).