HIV/AIDS Protective Factors among Urban American Indian Youths

Abstract

This research examined how family and individual factors influence three HIV/AIDS risk behaviors: having more than one sexual partner in the last three months, substance use at last sexual intercourse, and condom non-use at last sexual intercourse. The sample includes 89 sexually active American Indian adolescents living in a large Southwestern city. Logistic regression results revealed that family communication acts as a protective factor against HIV risk through a lower reported substance use during last sexual intercourse, but it did not appear to affect the number of multiple recent sex partners. Family and personal involvement in American Indian cultural activities, both low on average, had no effect on the outcomes. This study helps to fill the gap in knowledge on sexual health risk and protective factors among American Indian adolescents, an understudied group, and provides implications for intervention with American Indian youths and their families. Keywords HIV/AIDS; family context; protective factors; American Indian youthWhile there is a growing body of research on HIV/AIDS in the general population, less is known about the protective and risk factors associated with HIV/AIDS infection among youth in general 1 and American Indian youth in particular. Relative to other ethnic groups, American Indians have received minimal attention because they have had low rates of infection since the early days of the epidemic. [2][3][4] Yet, recently, rates of infection among American Indians have begun to increase, especially among youth, who make up a large portion of the American Indian population. 2,3 The change in rates raises questions about this group's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and marks a need to better understand the factors that may lead to or prevent behaviors associated with disease contraction in this group. Toward that end, this study uses a sample of sexually active, urban American Indian youth and explores the influence of family and individual factors on behaviors associated with HIV/ AIDS risk: having multiple recent sexual partners, substance use during sex, and unprotected sex. Some researchers have described HIV as the new smallpox, an epidemic which could wipe out entire American Indian communities in a way reminiscent of the epidemics caused by early European colonization. 2,3 The fact that many American Indian communities present risk factors commonly associated with HIV infection contributes to the level of concern. For example, American Indians report high rates of substance use, especially alcohol use, 2,4,7,8 and high rates of sexually transmitted diseases. 4,7 Furthermore, American Indians face high rates of poverty and low rates of educational achievement which may constitute barriers to prevention and access to health services. 3,6,7 On the other hand, the community's past low levels of infection necessitate further research to identify possible protective factors. Once these protective factors are identified and better understood, they can be integrated into effective and cu...

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