Assessing the relationship between child sexual abuse and marginal living conditions on HIV/AIDS-related risk behavior among women prisoners

Objective: There were two aims in this research. First, to examine the relationships between childhood sexual abuse and HIV drug and sexual risk taking behaviors among female prisoners, and second, to examine the relationship between a marginal adult living context and HIV drug and sexual risk taking behavior among female prisoners. Method: The data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a random sample of 500 women at admission to prison in 1994. Differences between women who were sexually abused while growing up ( n = 130) were compared to women who reported no sexual abuse ( n = 370) along various demographic, and HIV drug and sexual risk taking dimensions. Results: A history of sexual abuse while growing up was associated with increased sexual risk taking behaviors in adulthood. A marginal adult living situation also emerged as an important factor increasing the risk for HIV infection. Examining the co-occurrence of both childhood sexual abuse and adult marginal living context revealed a strong relationship between these two factors and HIV risk taking activities. Conclusions: The findings indicate that childhood sexual abuse may be a predictor for HIV sexual risk taking behaviors among incarcerated women. The marginal and chaotic adult living style of these women was also associated the extent of their HIV drug and sexual risk taking behaviors. Our research suggests that the co-occurrence of sexual victimization and marginality is a stronger predictor of HIV risk than each variable alone. Objectif: Cette recherche avait deux buts. Premièrement, examiner les relations entre la violence sexuelle subie durant l’enfance et les comportements à risque: HIV, drogue et sexualité chez les femmes en prison. Deuxièmement, examiner la relation entre le contexte de vie marginal d’un adulte et les comportements à risque cités chez des femmes vivant en prison. Méthode: Les données ont été recueillies lors d’entretiens en face-à-face avec un échantillon choisi au hasard de 500 femmes à leur admision en prison en 1994. Les différences entre les femmes qui avaient subi des violences sexuelles avant l’âge adulte ( n = 130) et les femmes qui n’en ont pas fait mention ( n = 370) ont été comparées selon des dimensions variées: démographiques ainsi que selon la prise de risque (HIV, drogue et sexualité). Résultats: La notion de violence sexuelle subie pendant le développement: s’est trouvée associée à l’augmentation de comportements à risque à l’âge adulte. Le