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History of Childhood Abuse, Drinking Motives, Alcohol Use, and Sexual Risk Behavior Among STD Clinic Patients in St. Petersburg, Russia: A Cross-Sectional Study

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Abstract

The relationship between level of childhood abuse (physical and emotional) and sexual risk behavior of sexually transmitted disease clinic patients in St. Petersburg, Russia was examined through path analyses. Mediating variables investigated were: Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), drinking motives (for social interaction, to enhance mood, to facilitate sexual encounters), intimate partner violence (IPV), anxiety, and depression symptoms. Results showed a significant indirect effect of childhood abuse on women’s sexual risk behavior: higher level of childhood abuse was associated with a greater likelihood of IPV, motivations to drink, leading to higher AUDIT scores and correlated to higher likelihood of having multiple, new or casual sexual partner(s). No significant effect was identified in paths to condom use. Among men, childhood abuse had no significant effect on sexual risk behavior. Reduction in alcohol-related sexual risk behavior may be achieved by addressing the effects of childhood abuse among female participants.

Resumen

La relación entre el nivel de abuso infantil (físico y emocional) y de comportamiento de riesgo sexual entre pacientes de una clínica de infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS) en San Petersburgo, Rusia se examinó mediante análisis de ruta. Variables mediadoras investigados fueron: Cuestionario de Identificación de los Trastornos debidos al Consume de Alcohol (AUDIT), motivaciones para el consumo de alcohol (para la interacción social, para mejorar el estado de ánimo, para facilitar los encuentros sexuales), violencia del compañero íntimo (VCI), síntomas de ansiedad y depresión. Los resultados mostraron un efecto indirecto significativo de abuso infantil en el comportamiento sexual de riesgo de las mujeres: Mayor nivel de abuso infantil se asoció con una mayor probabilidad de VCI y mayor motivaciones para beber, lo que lleva a mayores puntuaciones del AUDIT y estaba correlacionada a una mayor probabilidad de tener parejas sexuales múltiples, nuevas o ocasionales. Ningún efecto significativo fue identificado en caminos hacia el uso del condón. Entre los hombres, el abuso infantil no tuvo un efecto significativo sobre el comportamiento sexual de riesgo. La reducción de los comportamientos de riesgo sexual relacionados con el alcohol puede conseguirse abordando los efectos del abuso infantil entre las mujeres participantes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by Grant Number R01AA017389 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (PI: N. Abdala). Additional support was provided by the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (NIMH P30MH062294) and the Yale AIDS International Training and Research Program “Training and Research in HIV Prevention in Russia” (5 D43 TW001028). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06520-8034, USA

    Nadia Abdala

  2. Yale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Fangyong Li

  3. Department of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya nab, St Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation

    Alla V. Shaboltas & Roman V. Skochilov

  4. Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg, 6-8 L’va Tolstogo Str., St Petersburg, 197022, Russian Federation

    Tatiana V. Krasnoselskikh

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  1. Nadia Abdala
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Correspondence to Nadia Abdala.

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Abdala, N., Li, F., Shaboltas, A.V. et al. History of Childhood Abuse, Drinking Motives, Alcohol Use, and Sexual Risk Behavior Among STD Clinic Patients in St. Petersburg, Russia: A Cross-Sectional Study. AIDS Behav 20, 512–522 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-015-1043-9

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