Association of social network characteristics with HIV knowledge, stigma, and testing: findings from a study of racial and ethnic minority women in a small Western city

ABSTRACT

Black and Latina women are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Despite existing research linking social networks and HIV risk among men who have sex with men (MSM) and other high-risk populations, little research has examined how ethnic/racial minority women’s social networks shape HIV prevention and intervention targets. Using interviews with a sample of 165 predominantly Black and Latina-identifying women from a small city in the Western U.S., this research examines the relationship between egocentric network characteristics and HIV knowledge, attitudes, and testing history. Results reveal that network characteristics play a significant role in shaping HIV-related knowledge, prejudice, and testing intention but not HIV testing history. Individual-level factors like homelessness and perceptions of testing barriers are more salient for explaining testing behaviors than network characteristics. Intervention efforts to improve knowledge and reduce prejudice among Black and Latina women may benefit from mobilizing network ties.

KEYWORDS:

• Social networks
• Black women
• Latina women
• HIV knowledge
• HIV stigma

Acknowledgements

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01DA038185. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We would also like to thank those who participated in this research, members of our Community Advisory Board, and the many study team members who made this research possible, including Robert Harding, Xing Wei, Laura Johnson, Ashley Dawkins, Nicole Auldridge, Corinthia Crawford, Liliana Davalos, Elvira Diaz, Ashleigh Faulstich, Caitlin O’Leary, Ruth Salas, Brittany Smith, and Ryan Wong.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse [grant number R01DA038185].