title: Social Support and Its Impact on Ethnic Identity and HIV Risk among Migrant Workers.
abstract: Migrant workers are disproportionately affected by HIV due to poverty, social isolation, lack of access to and availability of health care services, acculturation, language barriers, constant mobility, and lack of knowledge. This study examined the impact of changes in social support on ethnic identity and HIV risk behaviors among migrant workers in South Florida. For this study, baseline and 6-month follow-up data were collected from an HIV intervention study among migrant workers in South Florida (n = 270) who reported unprotected sex in the past 30 days. The Multigroup Identity Measure was used to assess ethnic identity and the Social Provisions Scale examined the degree to which respondents' social relationships provide various dimensions of social support. Social support was a significant predictor of ethnic identity and of ethnic identity subscales, ethnic identity belonging and ethnic identity explore. There were small but statistically significant short-term changes in ethnic identity and ethnic identity subscales among the migrant workers over the 6-month time period assessed after controlling for the intervention. Future studies should be conducted over a longer period of time to better assess this relationship and possible factors to reduce HIV risk behaviors. There is a need to focus on improving the quality of health and reduce HIV and other risks experienced by this marginalized community.
authors.affiliation: Health Administration Department, College of Business, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA. nancyshehadeh@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shehadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Muni
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rubens
authors.affiliation: Health Administration Department, College of Business, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL, 33431, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Attonito
authors.affiliation: Social Science and Research Consulting, McKinleyville, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jennings
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Ethnic identity; HIV risk behaviors; HIV/AIDS prevention; Migrant workers; Sexual risk behaviors; Social support