Predictors of high and low levels of HIV risk behavior among adults with chronic mental illness. Psychiatr Serv 1995 Aug;46(8):813-8
Date
08/01/1995Pubmed ID
7583483DOI
10.1176/ps.46.8.813Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0029145110 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 65 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Several recent studies confirm elevated rates of human immunodeficiency virus infection among acute and chronic mentally ill adults in large urban areas. This research sought to characterize risk for HIV infection among adults with chronic mental illness and to examine psychosocial factors predictive of risk.
METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-five adults with chronic mental illness who were sexually active in the past year outside of exclusive relationships were individually interviewed in community mental health clinics using a structured HIV risk assessment protocol.
RESULTS: More than 50 percent of the study participants were sexually active in the past month, and 25 percent had multiple sexual partners during that period. Fifteen percent of the men had male sexual partners. In more than 75 percent of occasions of sexual intercourse, condoms were not used. When participants were categorized as at either high or lower risk for HIV infection based on their pattern of condom use, psychosocial factors that predicted risk level included measures of participants' self-reported efficacy in using condoms, perceptions of social norms related to safer sex among peers and sexual partners, and expectations about outcomes associated with condom use, as well as participants' level of objectively assessed behavioral skills in negotiation and assertiveness in sexual situations.
CONCLUSIONS: Interventions aimed at prevention of HIV and AIDS are urgently needed in settings that provide services to persons with chronic mental illness.
Author List
Kelly JA, Murphy DA, Sikkema KJ, Somlai AM, Mulry GW, Fernandez MI, Miller JG, Stevenson LYAuthor
Jeffrey A. Kelly PhD Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Chronic Disease
Female
HIV Infections
Health Behavior
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Homosexuality, Male
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders
Middle Aged
Patient Education as Topic
Sexual Behavior
