Early Life Circumstances As Contributors to HIV Infection

Overview

Journal Soc Work Health Care

Publisher Routledge

Specialties Health Services
Social Sciences

Date 2014 Nov 15

PMID 25397349

Citations 2

Authors

Karolynn Siegel

Helen-Maria Lekas

Destiny Ramjohn

Eric Schrimshaw

Nancy VanDevanter

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Adolescents may come from family settings that heighten their vulnerability to early sexual initiation, promiscuity and sexual exploitation. Using qualitative data, we illustrated how early life and family circumstances including neglectful or dysfunctional parenting, sexual abuse, and unstable housing placed young women on a risk trajectory for HIV infection. Five representative cases from a sample of 26 adolescent and young adult HIV-infected females (ages 16-24) who participated in a study about the disease-related adaptive challenges they faced are discussed. Study participants were recruited from five New York City adolescent HIV clinics that provided comprehensive specialty medical and ancillary social services to adolescents and young adults with the disease. The findings revealed that these young women's unmet need for love, protection, and feeling valued left them vulnerable to exploitive relationships with men who were often significantly older and resulted in their HIV infection.

Citing Articles

Longitudinal predictors of male sexual partner risk among Black and Latina women in their late thirties: ethnic/racial identity commitment as a protective factor.

Pahl K, Capasso A, Lekas H, Lee J, Winters J, Perez-Figueroa R J Behav Med. 2020; 44(2):202-211.

PMID: 32965619 PMC: 11620168. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-020-00184-9.

Individual and contextual factors associated with sexual initiation among adolescents.

Furlanetto M, Ghedin D, Goncalves T, Marin A Psicol Reflex Crit. 2020; 32(1):25.

PMID: 32026196 PMC: 6967213. DOI: 10.1186/s41155-019-0138-z.

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