NCJ Number
170258
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 77 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1997) Pages: 281-294
Date Published
1997
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Eight hundred five female felons admitted consecutively to the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women between July 1991 and November 1992 were interviewed to determine the relationships between risky sex and drug behaviors before incarceration and HIV status at incarceration.
Abstract
Seven hundred of the participants gave permission for access to their prison medical records and had complete information on relevant variables. Results revealed that 4 percent of the female inmates were HIV-positive. More than 80 percent of the women inconsistently used condoms during sexual intercourse. More than 15 percent injected drugs, had a drug-injecting sex partner, and exchanged sex for money or drugs. The exchange of sex for money or drugs was associated with being HIV-positive. Findings suggested that prison-based HIV prevention programs should emphasize sexual and drug risk-reduction strategies as a means to reduce the heterosexual HIV risks that female inmates will experience after they are release from prison. Tables and 42 references (Author abstract modified)