Changes in Women’s HIV Risk Following Alcohol Treatment

Women in treatment for alcohol problems are at heightened risk for infection with HIV. Alcohol use may contribute directly or indirectly to risk in this population. The goals of this research project were to evaluate cross-sectionally, before and after treatment for alcohol abuse or dependence, the acute and global relationships of alcohol use and other factors to HIV risk-related behavior; to evaluate prospectively hypotheses regarding the extent to which baseline characteristics are predictive of change in HIV risk behavior during the year after entry into alcoholism treatment; and to evaluate prospectively, the extent to which women’s participation in treatment, exposure to HIV risk-reduction education and counseling, and changes in alcohol use mediate change. The protocol tested an Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills model of HIV preventive behavior in an ethnically diverse sample of women entering either outpatient (n=300) or inpatient (n=150) treatment. Funded by a grant of $2,412,860 from NIAAA, 2005-2011.