Gender differences in HIV risk behaviors among young adults and adolescents entering a Massachusetts detoxification center

We examined gender differences in HIV risk behaviors among young substance abusers 17 through 25 years of age. A voluntary and confidential survey inquiring about HIV‐related risk behaviors was administered to clients (N = 200 respondents) on intake at a drug detoxification center in Massachusetts. Female respondents were more likely than males to report having shared their needles (p < 0.01), having had sex in exchange for drugs or money (p < 0.01), sex with an HIV‐infected partner (p < 0.01), and sex with an injection‐drug user (p < 0.01). They were also more likely to report having been diagnosed with an STD (p < 0.01). Nineteen percent of females (compared to 32% of males) reported always having used condoms for vaginal sex (p = 0.08), and 16% of females compared to 35% of males reported always having used condoms for anal sex (p = 0.06). In our cohort of substance‐abusing youth, adolescent and young adult females were more likely than males to report unsafe injection‐drug use and sexual practices. The results of this study suggest that programs designed to decrease HIV risk among high‐risk substance abusers in detoxification centers should be gender specific.

Key words:

• gender
• adolescent
• substance abuse
• HIV infection
• risk behaviors

Notes

Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Rhode Island Hospital and the Brown University School of Medicine, Providence RI

Division of Infectious Diseases, The Miriam Hospital and the Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI

Corresponding author: Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Rhode Island Hospital, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903. email: [email protected]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David Pugatch

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