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Unprotected Sex of Homeless Women Living in Los Angeles County: An Investigation of the Multiple Levels of Risk

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Abstract

This research uses multi-level modeling to investigate the context of unprotected sex of homeless women. Based on interviews with 429 randomly selected women living in temporary shelter settings in Los Angeles, this project investigates multiple levels of influence on unprotected sex with particular partners. Previous studies have investigated condom use of homeless women primarily at the individual level. This project investigates unprotected sex at the level of the partnership, the individual woman, and her social network. Homeless women who believe in the efficacy of condoms to prevent HIV infection, believe that they have low susceptibility to HIV and have a greater proportion of their non-sex partner social network ties with whom they speak about HIV are less likely to engage in unprotected sex. Women are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior in relationships in which they have high commitment to their partner and experience physical violence.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grant R01AA015301 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. We thank the women who shared their experiences with us, the service agencies that collaborated in this study, and the RAND Survey Research Group for assistance in data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA, 90407, USA

    David P. Kennedy, Suzanne L. Wenzel, Joan S. Tucker, Harold D. Green Jr., Daniela Golinelli, Gery W. Ryan, Robin Beckman & Annie Zhou

  2. UCLA Health Services Research Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David P. Kennedy

  3. USC School of Social Work, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Suzanne L. Wenzel

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  1. David P. Kennedy
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  8. Annie Zhou
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Correspondence to David P. Kennedy.

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Kennedy, D.P., Wenzel, S.L., Tucker, J.S. et al. Unprotected Sex of Homeless Women Living in Los Angeles County: An Investigation of the Multiple Levels of Risk. AIDS Behav 14, 960–973 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9621-3

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