Crack and Cocaine Use among Adolescents in Psychiatric Treatment: Associations with HIV Risk.
Crack and cocaine use among adults has been associated with co-occurring psychiatric disorders as well as other drug use and unprotected sex. However, this issue is relatively unstudied in adolescents. This study collected data from 282 adolescents (mean age=14.9 years) treated in intensive psychiatric treatment settings to understand the relationship between crack/cocaine use and HIV risk. Thirteen percent of youth reported ever using crack or cocaine. Use was not associated with age, gender, race/ethnicity or SES. After controlling for known factors that influence unprotected sex, the odds that those with a history of crack/cocaine use engaged in inconsistent condom use was six times greater than that for those youth who did not ever use. Thus, crack/cocaine use is prevalent even among younger adolescents with psychiatric disorders who are not in drug treatment. Its use is associated with high rates of sexual and other risk behaviors. A history of use should alert clinicians to a wide variety of possible behavioral risks. These results can also inform future adolescent HIV prevention intervention development.
Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Marina
M
Tolou-Shams
Sarah W Feldstein
SW
Ewing
Nicholas
N
Tarantino
Larry K
LK
Brown