Factors influencing IDU and non-IDU female commercial sex workers' intentions to always use condoms for vaginal sex with their regular partner

This paper discusses the factors influencing female commercial sex workers' (N = 172) intentions to use condoms with their regular partners during vaginal sex. While 73 of these women were at risk for HIV/STD transmission and acquisition primarily because of their commercial sex work (CSWonly), 99 were at risk because of both commercial sex work and injecting drug use (CSWs/IDUs). For CSWs/IDUs, attitudes (beta = 0.42), partner norm (beta = 0.24) and the mean of the weighted control beliefs (beta = 0.23) were significant independent predictors of intention R = 0.77). Although attitude (beta = 0.43) and partner norm (beta = 0.28) were also significant independent predictors of intention among CSWonly, they were not concerned with control issues, but instead considered the normative proscriptions of their most important others (i.e. the subjective norm; beta = 0.22; R = 0.74). For both CSWonly and CSWs/IDUs, the behavioural belief that using condoms makes you more relaxed, and the normative belief (or partner norm) that your main partner thinks you should or should not use condoms were identified as critical targets for an intervention. In addition, for CSWs/IDUs the control belief concerning the partners' openness to condom use was also identified as a critical target for an intervention.