Abstract
The current study examined social network and drug use factors associated with buying and selling sex among a sample of opiate and cocaine users in Baltimore, Maryland. A sample of 702 drug users who were sexually active were administered a social network and risk behaviour inventory. Compared to 25% of men, only 1.7% of women reported a history of giving money or drugs to get sex during the past 90 days. Conversely, more women (21.2%) than men (4.7%) sold sex for money or drugs. Those who sold sex were more likely to be low frequency crack smokers, were more likely to drink alcohol at least once a day, had a higher average number of crack-only smokers in their network, and had a smaller number of kin in their network. Men who exchanged money or drugs for sex tended to be low frequency crack smokers and reported having more crack-only smokers and injectors and fewer kin in their networks. The results suggest that network composition may be a risk factor for exchanging sex, particularly with respect to crack users, while kin may be a protective factor. These associations may be either a cause or consequence of exchanging sex.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 770-775 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | International Journal of STD and AIDS |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2003 |
Keywords
- Crack cocaine
- Exchanging sex
- HIV/AIDS
- Injection drug users
- Sexual behaviours
- Social networks
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Dermatology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Pharmacology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases