Suchergebnisse

Recognizing that HIV transmission occurs within situated interactions between two or more people, prevention research has increasingly begun to focus on identifying the influence of situations and settings on the spread of HIV. Examination of the social geography of risk has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding where and among whom risky practices occur. In this regard, shooting galleries represent interactional territories where the normative expectations of participation within their spatial boundaries can both encourage and reinforce sex- and drug-related risky behavior. Indeed, research shows that those who inject in shooting galleries tend to be at a higher risk of transmitting HIV than those who inject elsewhere. Drawing upon data from a sample of 1,113 active injecting drug users, we examined the demographic and psychosocial factors that predict shooting gallery use. Next, we compared shooting gallery users with nonusers in terms of drug use, followed by an examination of differences in sex- and drug-related HIV risk behaviors. Then, we explored preventive practices that possibly differentiate those who use shooting galleries from those who do not. We end our analysis by discussing the implications of our results for HIV prevention and social policy.

Transition milestones (e.g., telling family members that one is transgender and beginning hormone treatments) are specific transition-related events in transgender persons' lives that demarcate what their life circumstances were before versus after the milestone was reached. This article examines the relationship between transition milestones and psychological distress in a large sample of transgender adults. Data from the 2015 U.S. National Transgender Survey were used to examine 11 specific transition milestones in a sample of 27,715 transgender Americans aged 18 or older. A majority (64.6%) of respondents reported that psychological distress had affected them "some" or "a lot." Along with nine of the demographic measures and 13 of the support/discrimination measures, nine of the 11 transition milestones under study were found to be related to psychological distress levels. Reaching specific transition milestones plays an important role in many transgender adults' lives and may be highly beneficial in helping them to reduce psychological distress.