17th International AIDS Conference Mexico City, Mexico - August 13 - 18, 2008

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC, MENTAL HEALTH AND SEXUAL BEHAVIORS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SERODISCORDANT COUPLES: FINDINGS FROM A MULTISITE TRIALS

Int Conf AIDS. 2008 Aug 13-18;17 Abstract No. MOAC0304

W. Pequegnat, NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial for African-American Couples
National Institute of Mental Health, Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS, Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS, Bethesda, United States

BACKGROUND: Nearly one in three persons living with HIV/AID continue to practice unsafe sexual intercourse and these practices often occur in serodiscordant relationships, where one partner is HIV-negative and a partner is HIV-positive. The current study examined the sociodemographic, mental health and sexual practices of serodiscordant couples.

METHODS: The sample consisted of 535 couples (study partners) or 1070 participants (323 HIV-positive female, HIV-negative male couples and 212 HIV-positive male, HIV-negative female couples). All participants completed computerized surveys that assessed demographic characteristics, health and mental health status and sexual behaviors. Associations between these variables and HIV serostatus of the participants were assessed, properly adjusting for the within couple correlation.

RESULTS: Comparisons of the HIV-negative partner with the HIV-positive partners revealed that HIV-positive partners reported having less than a high school education (P=0.0065); being unemployed (P<0.001); having a history of drug treatment (P<0.0001); and testing positive for Hepatitis C (P<0.0001). Additionally, HIV-positive partners reported greater post traumatic stress (P<0.0193); and a greater history of heavy drug use (P<0.0001). No differences were noted between study partners in the percent reporting concurrent sexual partners, the percent engaging in condom protected sexual acts or the percent testing positive for chlamydia, gonorrhea or trichomoniasis. However, HIV-negative partners were slightly more likely to report engaging in protected sex when having sex with a partner from outside the study (P<0.0519). A nonsignificant finding revealed that among both study partners more than 70% reported being greater than 40 years of age partners.

CONCLUSIONS: Understanding HIV-related sociodemographic and psychosocial factors among couples can facilitate designing HIV interventions for serodiscordant couples.

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2008-08-13
MOAC0304

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