title: HIV risk behaviors become survival techniques for aboriginal women.
abstract: In northern Alberta, the Aboriginal (native) female population appears to be overrepresented in the HIV statistics. A qualitative research study was designed to explore the cultural factors that relate to the high HIV infection rate in these women. Eight HIV-positive women were interviewed for the study, representing about one third of the population. A model was developed to explain the relationships that exist between the women's formative years, their self-esteem, and the survival techniques they used prior to becoming HIV-positive. These survival techniques may have placed them in situations that increased their risk of infection with the HIV virus.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta at Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Mill
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D044467:American Indian or Alaska Native; D017579:Domestic Violence; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders; D012931:Social Environment