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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This paper examines the concordance of reported shared sexual behaviors, including condom use, among 535 heterosexual, African American, serodiscordant couples and identifies factors that might predict discordant reports. Percentages of agreement, Kappa and McNemar’s statistics and conditional probability indices are used to measure concordance. Logistic regression models identify predictors of couples’ discordant sexual reports. Analyses revealed Kappa statistics for reporting anal sex, fellatio and cunnilingus indicated moderate to substantial agreement. The effects of demographics and the couples’ relationship contexts on concordance of reported sexual behaviors were found to vary somewhat by gender and type of sexual behavior. Findings showed that concordance of reporting between the couples was consistent for the past 90 and 30 days. Findings from this paper provide new scientific insights into the knowledge base of self-reported couples’ data and suggest that these data can be used to evaluate their accuracy and serve as a proxy for validity.

This paper reports baseline behavioral and biological data collected from a cohort of 535 African American HIV serodiscordant couples enrolled in the Eban study across four urban metro areas. Data were collected on (1) the prevalence of risky sexual behaviors that occur within a couple and with concurrent sexual partners, (2) the STD prevalence for each member of the couple and (3) the correlates of STDs in the male partner as well as in the female partner. Presentation of the sociodemographic characterization and HIV risk behavior profiles of African American HIV serodiscordant couples represents an important initial description of a hidden, vulnerable population. Future research should be conducted with diverse samples of African American couples (i.e., younger couples, non-stable couples) to explore other potential correlates of STD prevalence.

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Research suggests that private physician providers of office abortions and the women who seek their services are not included in nationwide surveys of abortion statistics. This study describes the demographic characteristics of private physicians and the prevalence of abortions performed in their offices in Los Angeles County, California, a state in which office abortions are prohibited by law. Factors that influence physicians' decisions to provide the service, as well as the age and ethnicity of the office abortion recipients, are examined. Of 1,004 California Medical Association members who practiced obstetrics and gynecology in Los Angeles County during 1990, 49% returned anonymous, confidential surveys. Seventy percent of physicians had performed at least one abortion in California, and 29% were currently providing this service in their offices. Physician gender, age, ethnicity, and religion were associated with performing abortions. The average abortion patient was not young and ethnic, but White, middle-class, and in her mid- to late twenties. The implications of these findings are discussed.