Abstract
Despite the prevalence of public information about the transmission and prevention of HIV infection, substance abusers entering drug treatment programs still report many behaviors that are related (directly and indirectly) to HIV transmission. This study discusses how behaviors vary by gender and ethnicity in a large sample of substance abusers entering four modalities of substance abuse treatment totaling 96 programs in 11 cities. The data indicate that a significant proportion of respondents reported engaging in a variety of behaviors that placed them at increased risk for contracting HIV in the year prior to treatment. Rates of high risk behavior were similar for men and women for injection drug use, needle cleaning methods, and the inconsistent use of condoms with multiple sexual partners. However, women exceeded men in the rate at which they reported exchanging sex for money or drugs, having sexual partners who were injection drug users, and having sexually transmitted diseases. On the other hand, men exceeded women in the reported rate of having sexual partners who exchanged sex for money or drugs. African American and White women appeared to be at greater behavior risk of being infected with HIV than other respondents. Consistent with the results of other studies, sex exchange and inconsistent condom use with multiple partners stood out as the behaviors that placed African American women in this study at greatest risk for HIV infection; White women were at greatest risk from injecting drugs, using needles after others without adequate cleaning, and inconsistent condom use with multiple partners.