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Social Support, Relationship Power, and Knowledge of HIV+ Serostatus in Sexual Risk Behavior Among Women in Psychiatric Treatment

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Abstract

This study examined social support, perceived relationship power, and knowledge of HIV+ serostatus in relation to frequency of unprotected sex acts and number of partners among women with comorbid psychiatric illness receiving treatment. Data were drawn from an initial assessment of participants enrolled in an HIV risk reduction intervention (N = 284), and two generalized linear models were used to examine the potential associations. Relationship power was significantly associated with fewer unprotected sex acts. This relationship was stronger among those with greater social support. Knowledge of HIV+ serostatus was linked with fewer sexual partners and less unprotected sex. Findings also revealed that the protective nature of support varies by level of perceived relationship power, with higher power indicative of a stronger protective relationship. Study findings suggest that the potential protective benefits of social support may depend on one’s perceived relationship power. Implications for HIV prevention intervention for this at-risk group are discussed.

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Funding

This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This study was funded and made possible by grant #1R01DA018916-01 (HIV Prevention Groups for AOD Using SMI Women) to the late Dr. Robert M. Malow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Counseling Psychology Program, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    John M. Abbamonte, Robert C. McMahon & Evan T. Stanforth

  2. Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Rhonda Rosenberg, Michèle Jean-Gilles & Jessy G. Dévieux

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  1. John M. Abbamonte
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  2. Robert C. McMahon
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  6. Jessy G. Dévieux
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Correspondence to John M. Abbamonte.

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John Abbamonte, Robert McMahon, Evan Stanforth, Jessy Dévieux, Michèle Jean-Gilles and Rhonda Rosenberg declare no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional review board at Florida International University, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4

Table 1 Sample demographics
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Table 2 SPS 20-item adapted version
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Table 3 Negative binomial GLM: full model predicting number of unprotected sex acts
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Table 4 Negative binomial GLM: main effects model predicting number of sexual partners
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Abbamonte, J.M., McMahon, R.C., Stanforth, E.T. et al. Social Support, Relationship Power, and Knowledge of HIV+ Serostatus in Sexual Risk Behavior Among Women in Psychiatric Treatment. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 28, 191–199 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-020-09701-z

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