“…With regard to sexual risk behaviors that transmit STIs (namely unprotected or condomless sex), some studies find lower rates of sexual activity among those with SMI, but higher rates of risk behaviors among those who are sexually active (17,18). However, other studies show that, rather than psychiatric symptoms alone, it is intimate partner violence, substance use, and constrained survival choices in the context of lower socioeconomic status that drive sexual risk behavior (18,23). Nevertheless, few studies have examined these issues exclusively among low-income women, which would facilitate a better understanding of issues that are gender-specific and germane in low-income populations but rare in the general population.…”