Does a history of trauma contribute to HIV risk for women of color? Implications for prevention and policy.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated history of abuse and other HIV-related risk factors in a community sample of 490 HIV-positive and HIV-negative African American, European American, and Latina women.


METHODS
Baseline interviews were analyzed, and logistic regressions were used to identify predictors of risk for positive HIV serostatus overall and by racial/ethnic group.


RESULTS
Race/ethnicity was not an independent predictor of HIV-related risk, and few racial/ethnic differences in risk factors for HIV were seen. Regardless of race/ethnicity, HIV-positive women had more sexual partners, more sexually transmitted diseases, and more severe histories of abuse than did HIV-negative women. Trauma history was a general risk factor for women, irrespective of race/ethnicity.


CONCLUSIONS
Limited material resources, exposure to violence, and high-risk sexual behaviors were the best predictors of HIV risk.
Wyatt
Gail E
GE
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza-NPI (Room C8-871C), Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759, USA. gwyatt@mednet.ucla.edu
Myers
Hector F
HF
Williams
John K
JK
Kitchen
Christina Ramirez
CR
Loeb
Tamra
T
Carmona
Jennifer Vargas
JV
Wyatt
Lacey E
LE
Chin
Dorothy
D
Presley
Nicole
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000208:ethnology*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011902:Rape / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016387:Women's Health