title: Physical abuse is associated with HIV-related drug risk.
abstract: Those who have experienced abuse may be prone to engaging in risky sexual behavior and risky drug use. The relationship between sexual abuse and risky behavior has been well established in the literature, but the association between physical abuse and risky drug use has been equivocal. We hypothesize that the experience of PTSD symptoms following physical abuse leads to risky drug use. Therefore, we examined the associations among physical abuse history, PTSD symptoms, and HIV-related drug risk in a sample of 121 opioid-dependent persons to determine whether PTSD symptoms mediated the relationship between physical abuse history and drug risk. Participants were recruited during an acute care hospital inpatient stay. Physical abuse history was associated with increased drug risk, and PTSD symptoms were associated with increased drug risk. However, PTSD symptoms were not found to be a mediator of the association between physical abuse history and HIV-related drug risk. These findings highlight the importance of assessing abuse history in high-risk samples of opioid users.
authors.affiliation: Psychosocial Research, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd., Providence, RI 02906, USA; Providence VA Medical Center, 830 Chalkstone Ave, Building 32, Providence, RI 02908, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Box G, Providence, RI 02912, USA. Electronic address: madhavi_reddy@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Madhavi K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: General Medicine Research Unit, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liebschutz
authors.affiliation: General Medicine Research Unit, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Boulevard, Providence, RI 02906, USA; Department of Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Box G, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: HIV; Opiate dependence; PTSD; Physical abuse; Risky drug use