185521 An Application of the Theory of Gender & Power to the General Social Survey Series

Monday, October 27, 2008

Euna August, MPH , Department of Community and Family Health, University of South Florida, College of Public Health, Tampa, FL
Background: The research purpose was to investigate factors associated with the Theory of Gender and Power within the General Social Survey (GSS), a nationally-representative, household-based survey of US adults.

Methods: Data are from the 2004 administration of the GSS. The sample consisted of females, aged 18 years and older (N = 1532). The primary analytic method utilized was logistic regression.

Results: Only 18.4% of women reported the use of a condom during her last sexual encounter. The majority of the women in the sample were white (78.4%), married (51.0%), had some post-secondary education (59.1%), and reported a family income greater than $25,000 annually (67.1%). Multiple variables were significantly associated with condom usage, including age, race, marital status, educational level, income, and socioeconomic class.

Conclusions: HIV interventions for women need to address the social, cultural, economic, and relational context in which safer sex decisions are made.

Learning Objectives:
Understand the core constructs of the Theory of Gender & Power Identify statistically significant constructs within the General Social Survey Series for condom usage

Keywords: Women and HIV/AIDS, Theory

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conducted the data analysis and wrote up the findings.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.