Correlates of Drug Use, Sexual Behavior, and Attitudes toward Safer Sex among African-American and Hispanic Women in Methadone Maintenance

Abstract

Female intravenous drug users are among the fastest growing segments of the population infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. This article, based on interviews with 91 African-American and Latina women in methadone clinics, describes respondents' drug use, sexual risk taking, and attitudes toward condom use and negotiation of safer sex; and examines relationships between sexual risk taking and demographic characteristics, length of time in treatment, current drug use, and attitudes toward negotiating safer sex and condoms. Forty-two percent of the sample reported that they had changed their sexual practices to reduce their risk of AIDS. Recovering IV drug users in long-term monogamous relationships tended to use condoms less frequently during sexual intercourse than those in casual relationships. Various drugs were differentially related to high-risk sexual activity. Frequent drug injectors admitted to having more sexual partners and to having sex more frequently, and used condoms with less frequently than women who used IV drugs less often. Attitudes toward negotiating safer sex and frequency of condom use varied by ethnicity. In addition, use of condoms appeared to be related more to attitudes toward negotiating safer sex and the degree of comfort with social skills in communicating with sexual partners than to perceptions about the properties of condoms. Findings have implications for developing interventions to reduce AIDS risks.