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Impact of Intimate Partner Forced Sex on HIV Risk Factors in Physically Abused African American and African Caribbean Women

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Abstract

We examined associations between intimate partner forced sex (IPFS) and HIV sexual risk behaviors among physically abused Black women. Women aged 18–55 in intimate relationships were interviewed in health clinics in Baltimore, MD and St. Thomas and St. Croix, US Virgin Islands (USVI). Of 426 physically abused women, 38 % experienced IPFS; (Baltimore = 44 and USVI = 116). USVI women experiencing IPFS were more likely to have 3+ past-year sex partners (AOR 2.06, 95 % CI 1.03–4.14), casual sex partners (AOR 2.71, 95 % CI 1.42–5.17), and concurrent sex partners (AOR 1.94, 95 % CI 1.01–3.73) compared to their counterparts. Baltimore women reporting IPFS were more likely to have exchanged sex (AOR 3.57, 95 % CI 1.19–10.75). Women experiencing IPFS were more likely to report their abuser having other sexual partners in Baltimore (AOR 3.30, 95 % CI 1.22–8.88) and USVI (AOR 2.03, 95 % CI 1.20–3.44). Clinicians should consider the influence of IPFS on individual and partnership HIV sexual risk behaviors.

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Acknowledgments

J.E.D. is now with the Department of Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, San Francisco, CA.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIMHD P20MD002286, Caribbean Exploratory Research Center, University of the Virgin Islands). J.E.D. was supported by NIMH (F31MH088850) and NINR (T32NR007081). M.B.L. is supported by NICHD (T32HD064428 and R01HD077891) and NIMHD (L60MD006272). J.K.S. is supported by NICHD (R01HD077891) NIDA (K01DA031593 and R25DA025571), NIMHD (L60MD003701) and NIMH (R25MH080664 and R25MH080665). The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Jessica E. Draughon, Marguerite B. Lucea, Jacquelyn C. Campbell & Phyllis W. Sharps

  2. Pioneer Women’s Health, Greenfield, MA, USA

    Mary T. Paterno

  3. Caribbean Exploratory (NIMHD) Research Center, University of the Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, USA

    Desiree R. Bertrand & Doris W. Campbell

  4. Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Jamila K. Stockman

  5. Department of Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, 2 Koret Way, Box 0608, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA

    Jessica E. Draughon

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  1. Jessica E. Draughon
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Correspondence to Jessica E. Draughon.

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Draughon, J.E., Lucea, M.B., Campbell, J.C. et al. Impact of Intimate Partner Forced Sex on HIV Risk Factors in Physically Abused African American and African Caribbean Women. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 1313–1321 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0112-x

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