Although current dominant US political ideology emphasizes individual-oriented interventions against HIV and other STD's, a large and growing body of research suggests that intercorrelated patterns of 'core group risk behavior' within marginalized populations which facilitate STD transmission are elements of a behavioral language whose grammar and syntax, in a large sense, reflect the systematic patterns of constraint imposed by encompassing social structures. The cognitive nature of human social networks embedded in place ensures that they will build an internal picture of the world, against which individual behaviors are weighed. Systematic patterns of opportunity or of constraint produce dramatically different systematic patterns of individual response. 'Talking the talk and walking the walk' are fundamentally different matters for the oppressor and the oppressed. The implications of this dichotomy are discussed, in the context of the emerging world of multiple drug resistant HIV.
Learning Objectives: 1. Better understand the role of social structure in the production of individual behavior. 2. Understand the limits of individual-orineted behavioral or antiretroviral drug treatment interventions against HIV in the context of systemic patterns of injustice and inequality.
Keywords: Social Inequalities, Sexual Risk Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.