228824 Examining Partner Violence and High Risk Sexual Behaviors among Adolescent Females Receiving Psychiatric Services

Monday, November 8, 2010

Delia Lang, PhD MPH , Rollins School of Public Health and Center for AIDS Research, Emory Univeristy, Atlanta, GA
Laura F. Salazar, PhD , Rollins School of Public Health and Center for AIDS Research, Emory Univeristy, Atlanta, GA
Ralph DiClemente, PhD , Rollins School of Public Health and Center for AIDS Research, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Richard A. Crosby, PhD , Department of Health Behavior, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Lexington, KY
Larry K. Brown, MD , Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Bradley Hasbro Research Center, Brown University Medical School/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
Geri Donenberg, PhD , Institute for Juvenile Research, Dept of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Background: Numerous studies indicate a robust association between history of partner violence (PV) and engaging in risky sexual practices in adulthood. However, the extent to which this finding is present in female adolescents receiving psychiatric services is not well known. Methods: Sexually active female adolescents, 13-17 years, receiving psychiatric services in three urban areas of the US completed an ACASI interview at baseline (N =290). Sociodemographics, history of physical and/or sexual PV, risky sexual practices such as inconsistent condom use, multiple partners and anal sex as well as substance use were assessed. Participants indicating that they had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a sexual partner were classified as having a history of PV. Results: Twenty-nine participants (10%) reported a history of PV at baseline. Logistic regression models controlling for minority status, household income and parent communication indicate that those with a history of PV were significantly more likely to report multiple sex partners (AOR=6.8; p=.0001), inconsistent condom use (AOR=2.9; p=.043), marijuana use (AOR=2.4; p=.045) and sex while their partner was high (AOR=4.6; p=.007). No significant association was found between PV and anal sex (AOR=2.1; p=.14). Conclusions: Adolescent females who experience partner violence are engaging in more risky sexual and substance use behaviors, thereby placing themselves at higher risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Thus, it is critically important for clinicians, particularly mental health professionals, to identify and intervene with girls who have experienced partner violence in an attempt to avoid a trajectory of sexual risk-taking.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify partner violence as a predictor of having multiple sex partners, inconsistent condom use, having sex while high and marijuana use among female adolescents receiving psychiatric services.

Keywords: Sexual Risk Behavior, Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author on the content I am responsible for because I am a researcher in the area of STI/HIV prevention among adolescents, and I have overseen the research project that generated the data utilized for this abstract. I am also a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of GA.
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.