Developing a Tripartite Prevention Program for Impoverished Young Women Transitioning to Young Adulthood: Addressing Substance Use, HIV Risk, and Victimization by Intimate Partners

Abstract

Little is known about the transition to adulthood for adolescent females and young women who are impoverished and homeless. Co-occurrence of drug use and abuse, HIV risk, and victimization is notable among homeless women, highlighting the need for comprehensive interventions. Unfortunately, evidence-based prevention approaches addressing these inter-related problems among impoverished women transitioning into adulthood are lacking. To address this gap, we designed an innovative prevention program by utilizing open- and closed-ended interview data from impoverished women (n = 20), focus groups with community experts and providers (2 groups; n = 9), and a theoretical framework to direct the research. Information provided by our focus groups and interviews with women supported our theoretical framework and highlighted the importance of addressing normative information, providing skills training, and utilizing a non-confrontational approach when discussing these sensitive issues.

KEYWORDS:

• drug and alcohol use
• HIV risk behavior
• homeless women
• prevention
• victimization

Work on this article was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (R21DA019183). The authors thank the women, providers, community experts, and shelters who participated in this research. We acknowledge Dr. Marcia Ellison for her contributions on an earlier part of the study. We also thank Michael Woodward and Shirley Cromb for their assistance and creativity in developing project materials.

Notes

Note: V&V = violence and victimization session; AOD = alcohol and other drug use session; HIV RB = HIV risk behavior.