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Does gender-related power imbalance link early violence exposure to HIV risk among young African American women?
Methods: Adolescent girls were recruited from mental health agencies serving low-income communities in Chicago and have been followed over seven waves of data collection (N = 118). Violence exposure was assessed at mean age 17. Gender based power imbalance (adherence to traditional gender norms, importance of an African American male partner, partner violence) and HIV risk (multiple partners, anal sex, and sex while using substances) were assessed at ages 18-26. Structural equation modeling was used to examine a mediated path model.
Results: In the full model, partner violence was a separate variable as it did not load strongly with the other power imbalance variables. Early violence exposure was associated partner violence (β = .40, p < .001). Power imbalance was associated with HIV risk (β = .71, p < .001). However, no mediated or indirect pathways were supported.
Conclusions: The context of romantic partnerships is important for understanding risk and resilience in young minority women. However, different aspects of these relationships may relate to early violence and sexual risk. Findings supported a cycle of violence persisting into young adult relationships. However, perceptions contributing to gender based power imbalance appear more relevant to sexual risk.
Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practicePublic health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Evaluate the mediating effect of gender-related power imbalance on the relationship between early violence exposure and HIV risk
Keyword(s): HIV Risk Behavior, Youth Violence
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For the past 3 years, I have been the Project Director for an HIV prevention study from which these data are being submitted to the APHA 2015 annual meeting. My research experiences include early exposure to violence, dating violence and sexual risk and African American young adult women and their partners. I also have several years of experience conducting HIV prevention research with AA youth and sexual minorities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.