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The Contribution of Male and Female Partners’ Substance Use to Sexual Risks and STDs Among African American HIV Serodiscordant Couples

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Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that drug and alcohol use are fueling the heterosexual transmission of HIV among African Americans. This study aims to examine the relative contribution of drug and alcohol use of male and female partners to risks of heterosexual transmission of HIV among 535 African American HIV serodiscordant couples (N = 1,070 participants) who participated in an HIV prevention trial. Associations found between use of drugs and alcohol by one or both partners and sexual risk indicators varied by type of substance and whether male or female partner or both partners reported use. The findings suggest multiple ways in which substance use of male and female partners may be contributing to the heterosexual transmission of HIV and other STDs among African Americans and underscore the need for HIV prevention strategies to address dyadic patterns of substance use that lead to sexual risks.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Consortia

Additional information

The NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial for African American Couples Study Group

Steering Committee

Nabila El-Bassel, DSW (PI) - Columbia

Gina Wingood, ScD, MPH (PI) - Emory

Gail E. Wyatt, PhD (PI) - UCLA

John B. Jemmott, III, PhD (PI) - Penn

Willo Pequegnat, PhD - NIMH

J. Richard Landis, PhD (PI) - DCC

Co-Investigators

Scarlett Bellamy, ScD - DCC

Louisa Gilbert, PhD Candidate - Columbia

Robert H. Remien, PhD - Columbia

Susan Witte, PhD - Columbia

Elwin Wu, PhD - Columbia

Ralph DiClemente, PhD - Emory

Hector Myers, PhD - UCLA

Loretta Sweet Jemmott, PhD, RN, FAAN - Penn

David Metzger, PhD - Penn

Data Coordinating Center (DCC - Penn)

Shawn Ballard, MS

Trina Brown

Quincy Greene

Christopher Helker, RN, MSPH

Nancy Robinson, PhD

Lynne Allen-Taylor, PhD

Dina Appleby, MS

Evelyn Crowley, PhD

Project Directors

Angela Ankoma MSSW, MPH - Columbia

Deidre Ashton, MSSW - Columbia

Dawn A. Goddard, MSS - Columbia

Tamu Daniel, MPH - Emory

Tina Henderson, PhD - UCLA

Inna Rivkin, PhD - UCLA

Cynthia M. Green, MA - Penn

Facilitators

Jeffery Brently, MSW - Columbia

Rebecca D. Cheraquit, MSSW - Columbia

Deborah Gray - Columbia

Linda Hakim - Columbia

Bright Sarfo - Columbia

Kijana Saunders - Columbia

Dawn Simmons, MSW - Columbia

Keisha Wilson, MSW - Columbia

Nikia D. Braxton, MPH - Emory

Christina Camp, PhD - Emory

Anita Conner, MPH - Emory

Jevon Gibson - Emory

Alvin Harmon, PhD - Emory

Teaniese Latham, MPH - Emory

Tiffany Pennick-Walters, MPH - Emory

Kenneth Rucker - Emory

Shammara Steinback, MPH - Emory

Phillip Williams - Emory

Richard Williams, PhD - Emory

Shauni Williams - Emory

Kevin Chancy, PsyD - UCLA

Frank Levels - UCLA

Nathaniel Thomas, PhD - UCLA

Reginald Bennett, MS - Penn

Shirley Bryson, MSW - Penn

Salema Curtis, MPH - Penn

Michelle Jones, MS - Penn

Phyllis Jones, MSW - Penn

Malachi Moore, MS - Penn

Charles Patterson, MA - Penn

Marcia Penn, MS - Penn

Alicia Samuel, M.Ed. - Penn

Randy Shine, MPH - Penn

Ralph Stevenson, MA - Penn

Robert Tate, M.Ed. - Penn

Michael Taylor, MSW - Penn

Charlotte Wroton, MS - Penn

Recruiters

Derryck Griffith - Columbia

Pearl Johnson - Columbia

Lisa Matthews - MPH, EdD Candidate - Columbia

Rhonda Mendoza - Columbia

Allan Winkle - Columbia

Jill Daugherty, MPH - Emory

Deja Er, MPH - Emory

Linda Felix, MAT - Emory

Meklit Hailemeskal, MPH - Emory

Toya Howard - Emory

Tamika Hoyte, MPH - Emory

Jamie Smith, MPH - Emory

Lisa Smith, MPH - Emory

Les DeMorst - UCLA

Rotrease Regan, RN, MPH - UCLA

Elsa Rogers - UCLA

Karen Carter - Penn

Calvin Collier, BS - Penn

Mikia Croom, BS - Penn

Dionna Samuel, MS - Penn

Joseph Sosa, BS - Penn

Brian Taylor, BS - Penn

Supervisors

Tamara S. Bryan, PhD - Columbia

LaShun Robinson-Simpson, PhD - Emory

Christina Camp, PhD - Emory

Tamra Loeb, PhD - UCLA

John Williams MD - UCLA

Lynette Gueits, MPH - Penn

Laboratory

Cynthia Bayer, MS, CRNP - Penn

Angela Caliendo, MD, PhD - Emory

Shalonda Freeman, PhD - Emory

Jessica Ingersoll - Emory

Lisa Maslankowski, MD - Penn

Debra McGee-Smith, NP - UCLA

Patrice Moorer, MS - Emory

Michelle Mott, MSN, FNP-C - Emory

Bennie Woodard, MPH - Emory

Data Collectors

Claudette Bannerman - Columbia

Warren Blake - Columbia

Tiffany Bratts MPH - Columbia

Olivia Copeland, Ed.D - Columbia

Daisy De Jesus-Sosa - UCLA

Adefunke Faly, MPH - Emory

Meklit Hailemeskal, MPH - Emory

Tamika Hoyte, MPH - Emory

Janet Hsu, BS - Penn

Heather Irobunda - Columbia

Shakaria Johnson, MPH - Emory

Frandy Napoleon - Columbia

Karen Williams - UCLA

Sonya Combs, MS - Penn

Mathew MacDonald, BS - Penn

Lolita Roy MSSW - Columbia

Dalena White, MBA - Penn

Pandora Woods, BS - Penn

Crystal Wyatt - Penn

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The NIMH Multisite HIV/STD Prevention Trial for African American Couples Group. The Contribution of Male and Female Partners’ Substance Use to Sexual Risks and STDs Among African American HIV Serodiscordant Couples. AIDS Behav 14, 1045–1054 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9695-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9695-y

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