Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In this study, we examine the relationship between depression and HIV-related risk behavior practices in a sample of “at risk” women. The research is based on interviews with 250 women (predominantly African American) living in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Interviews were conducted between August 1997 and August 2000. Street outreach efforts were used to identify potential study participants, with further expansion of the sample done via targeted sampling and ethnographic mapping procedures. A conceptual model explaining the hypothesized relationship between depression and HIV risk is presented and tested. In the model, depression and condom-related attitudes are construed as intervening (or mediating) variables. A variety of demographic characteristics, background and experiences measures, childhood maltreatment items, and substance use-related variables are examined as predictors of depression, attitudes toward using condoms, and HIV risk behavior practices. Path analysis was used to determine the specific manner in which depression was related to women’s risk behaviors. The results support the conceptual model. They show that depression is a key mediating variable, having its primary influence on women’s risky practices through its impact upon their attitudes toward using condoms. Predictors of depression included religiosity, closeness of family relationships, financial problems, childhood maltreatment experiences, and drug-related problems. The implications of these findings for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.

Supporting Publications:
Supporting Document

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In this study, we examine the relationship between depression and HIV-related risk behavior practices in a sample of “at risk” women. The research is based on interviews with 250 women (predominantly African American) living in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Interviews were conducted between August 1997 and August 2000. Street outreach efforts were used to identify potential study participants, with further expansion of the sample done via targeted sampling and ethnographic mapping procedures.
A conceptual model explaining the hypothesized relationship between depression and HIV risk is presented and tested. In the model, depression and condom-related attitudes are construed as intervening (or mediating) variables. A variety of demographic characteristics, background and experiences measures, childhood maltreatment items, and substance use-related variables are examined as predictors of depression, attitudes toward using condoms, and HIV risk behavior practices. Path analysis was used to determine the specific manner in which depression was related to women’s risk behaviors.
The results support the conceptual model. They show that depression is a key mediating variable, having its primary influence on women’s risky practices through its impact upon their attitudes toward using condoms. Predictors of depression included religiosity, closeness of family relationships, financial problems, childhood maltreatment experiences, and drug-related problems. The implications of these findings for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.