Depression and HIV Risk Behavior Practices among “At Risk” Women
Many researchers have shown that depression is greater among persons who are infected
with HIV than among those who are not HIV-positive (Devine et al., 2000; Lichtenstein, Laska,
& Clair, 2002; Lyon & Younger, 2001), and that depression levels are higher among HIV-
infected persons whose viral loads and/or presenting symptoms are greater than their counterparts
who have lower viral loads or fewer AIDS-related symptoms (Bogart et al., 2000; Kalichman et
al., 2002; Van Servellen et al., 1998). Nearly all of the published depression-and-HIV literature
is based on studies of gay males or HIV-infected persons, to determine the relationship between
the extent of depressive symptoms and involvement in various types of HIV risk. Relatively
little attention has been devoted to the subject of depression as a risk factor for engaging in HIV
risk behaviors among other populations, particularly women. This is the focus of the present
paper.
The few studies that have examined the role that depression plays in women’s HIV risk
behaviors have been conducted with a variety of types of populations of women, including
community health clinic patients, drug treatment clients, community-based HIV intervention
program participants, and low-income inner-city drug injectors, among others. In studies of
African American women attending urban health centers (Orr et al., 1994) and female heroin
addicts (Grella, Anglin, & Annon, 1996), research has shown that more depressive symptoms are
associated with greater overall HIV risk. Some researchers have found a link between depression
and women’s drug- and/or injection-related HIV risk behaviors (Latkin & Mandell, 1993;
McCusker et al., 1995; Simpson, Knight, & Ray, 1993) and others have reported an association
between depression and the extent of women’s sexual risk-taking practices (Morrill et al., 1996).
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