Latkin C A, Mandell W, Vlahov D
Department of Mental Hygiene, The Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 1996 Nov;42(3):175-81. doi: 10.1016/s0376-8716(96)01279-3.
Social context may be an important determinant of drug and alcohol consumption and HIV-related behaviors. To assess the influence of peers on drug users' risk behaviors this study examined the association between individual level and group level behaviors. This analysis reports on the prospective association between baseline self-reported drug and alcohol use of the network members of injection drug users, and self-reported sexual behaviors and alcohol use at 5-month follow-up. Participants were a nontreatment sample of inner-city injection drug users who volunteered for a network-oriented HIV preventive intervention. They were predominantly unemployed, African American males. Of the 71 index participants who completed both the baseline and follow-up interviews, 227 of their drug network members were enrolled in the study. At baseline indexes' sexual risk behaviors were significantly associated with their drug network members' level of crack cocaine use. At follow-up higher levels of alcohol and crack use among drug network members were associated with indexes' reports of multiple sex partners and increased alcohol consumption. Higher levels of crack use among the drug network members were associated with the indexes' reporting casual sex partners at follow-up. These results highlight the importance of studying the role of peer group influence and the social context of risk behaviors.
社会环境可能是药物和酒精消费以及与艾滋病毒相关行为的一个重要决定因素。为了评估同伴对吸毒者风险行为的影响，本研究考察了个体层面行为与群体层面行为之间的关联。该分析报告了注射吸毒者网络成员基线时自我报告的药物和酒精使用情况与5个月随访时自我报告的性行为和酒精使用情况之间的前瞻性关联。参与者是市中心注射吸毒者的一个非治疗样本，他们自愿参加了一项以网络为导向的艾滋病毒预防干预措施。他们主要是失业的非裔美国男性。在完成基线和随访访谈的71名指标参与者中，有227名他们的毒品网络成员被纳入研究。在基线时，指标参与者的性风险行为与他们毒品网络成员的快克可卡因使用水平显著相关。在随访时，毒品网络成员中较高水平的酒精和快克使用与指标参与者报告的多个性伴侣以及酒精消费增加有关。毒品网络成员中较高水平的快克使用与指标参与者在随访时报告有随意性伴侣有关。这些结果凸显了研究同伴群体影响的作用以及风险行为的社会环境的重要性。
