Abuse in the Close Relationships of People With HIV

Abstract

We estimated the proportion of adults receiving HIV care who are involved in abusive close relationships and identified factors associated with abuse perpetration and victimization. A nationally representative sample of 1,421 persons in care for HIV included 51% who reported having a close relationship (a spouse or a primary relationship partner) during a 6-month period. Of those in a close relationship, 26.8%reported the presence of abuse. Forty-eight percent of all abuse was mutual, and abuse perpetration and victimization occurred equally often. Age, substance abuse, and psychiatric disorder, as well as characteristics of relationships (e.g., both partners seropositive) predicted perpetration and/or victimization. After adjusting for these factors, females were not found to differ from gay men in their likelihood of being perpetrators of abuse or victims. However, African Americans were more likely than Whites to be involved in an abusive relationship. Interventions for people with HIV must address the presence of abuse in close relationships, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, but may benefit from targeting people of color.

Intimate partner violence, HIV, and mental health: a triple epidemic of global proportions

“…However, there is minimal research supporting this hypothesis (Galvan et al, 2004;Were et al, 2011).…”

Women, Trauma, and HIV: An Overview

“…ElBassel and associates utilize a New York sample. Galvan et al (2004) use the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), a national study of women and men of diverse ethnicities and sexual orientations. Wyatt et al (2004) use data from the Los Angeles County Women's Health Project dataset, one of the first risk-reduction interventions specifically designed for multi-ethnic samples of HIV-positive women with histories of CSA.…”

“…These studies address the effects of a range of traumatic experiences, including sexual, physical, and community level violence on mental and physical health outcomes. The studies range in sample size, with large samples of African American, Latina, and European American women (see Galvan et al (2004) and Tucker et al (2004)), and a smaller sample of Asian Pacific Islander women (Nemoto et al, 2004). These samples are also diverse with respect to risk categories, ranging from sex workers (Nemoto et al, 2004) to the drug-involved (El-Bassel et al, 2004) and women living in shelters (Tucker et al, 2004).…”

“…These samples are also diverse with respect to risk categories, ranging from sex workers (Nemoto et al, 2004) to the drug-involved (El-Bassel et al, 2004) and women living in shelters (Tucker et al, 2004). Three studies use HIV-positive samples (Galvan et al, 2004;Tucker et al, 2004;Wyatt et al, 2004)-one includes HIV-negative women at risk (El-Bassel et al, 2004), and the three studies compare HIV-positive and HIV-negative women (Paxton et al, 2004;Newcomb and Carmona, 2004). Finally, one study reports the initial results of the first risk-reduction intervention for HIV-positive women with trauma histories (Wyatt et al, 2004).…”

“…The findings call for individualized and community-level interventions to improve women's health and decrease prolonged exposure to risks for STIs and violence. Galvan et al (2004) used the HCSUS dataset including 1421 HIV-positive men and women who are diverse with respect to sexual orientation to identify characteristics of those most at-risk for intimate partner violence (IPV). They report that women did not differ from gay men in the likelihood of being perpetrators or victims of IPV.…”