Demographic and behavioral predictors of sexual risk in the NIMH Multisite HIV Prevention Trial

Abstract

The intent of the NIMH Multisite HIV Prevention Trial was to test an intervention to reduce high-risk sexual behaviors. To this end, participants were recruited from sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics and health service organizations (HSO) for low-income women in endemic areas. Each person entered in the trial reported at least one risky act within the previous 90 days. However, there was considerable variation in risk levels with some individuals reporting few and others reporting many r isky acts. Previous research suggests that certain demographic and behavioral factors influence one’s level of HIV risk behavior. However, much of this past work has been conducted with national probability samples, community samples, or college students [1–3]. The extent to which the same set of factors helps predict the extent of HIV risk among individuals who currently report risk behaviors has not been thoroughly examined. Understanding who is at greatest r isk in a given population can provide direction for the development and targeting of HIV interventions and the effective use of limited resources. For example, such information may be useful to health educators and other service providers who may need to select only the highest risk clients for intensive intervention efforts because of limited budgets.