Substance-abusing adolescents at varying levels of HIV risk: psychosocial characteristics, drug use, and sexual behavior.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the relationship of various psychosocial factors on HIV sexual risk behavior in a sample of 169 "inner city" male and female adolescents mandated into in court-ordered substance abuse treatment.


METHODS
The Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) and measures of sexual behavior, condom attitudes and skills, HIV knowledge, and substance abuse were administered. Data were evaluated according to five HIV risk groups: abstinent (n = 37); monogamous and practicing only protected sex (n = 19); monogamous and practicing unprotected sex (n = 45); multiple partners and practicing only protected sex (n = 11); and multiple partners and having only unprotected sex (n = 57).


RESULTS
Significant main effects were found for impulsive propensity, submissiveness, marijuana and alcohol use, condom attitudes, and intentions to engage in safer sex. Protective behavior was directly associated with submissiveness and inversely associated with impulsive personality profiles, with increased marijuana use emerging as a significant predictive factor in the choice for sexual activity vs. abstinence. More alcohol use was predictive of choosing multiple partners vs. monogamy.


CONCLUSIONS
Factoring risk variation into the design of HIV psychosocial research may enhance the tailoring of effective prevention strategies.
Malow
R M
RM
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, Suite 3208, 1695 Northwest 9th Avenue, Miami, FL, USA. rmalow@bellsouth.net
Dévieux
J G
JG
Jennings
T
T
Lucenko
B A
BA
Kalichman
S C
SC
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011584:Psychology; D012306:Risk; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*