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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.131482v1 99/6/1067    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Raiford, J. L. Articles by Wingood, G. M. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Raiford, J. L. Articles by Wingood, G. M. Related Collections HIV/AIDS Adolescent Health Injury/Emergency Care/Violence Prevention African Americans/Blacks Sexual Health

Jerris L. Raiford, PhD, Ralph J. DiClemente, PhD and Gina M. Wingood, ScD, MPH

The authors are with the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, and the Social and Behavioral Science Core, Emory Center for AIDS Research, Atlanta.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to: Jerris L. Raiford, PhD, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University, 1520 Clifton Road, NE, Suite 218, Atlanta, GA 30322 (e-mail: jraifor{at}sph.emory.edu).

Objectives. We examined the interactive effects of fear of abuse and knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) on sexual risk behaviors in a sample of young African American women.

Methods. We recruited 715 young African American women aged 15 to 21 years from a variety of health clinics and assessed them for fear of abuse because of negotiating condom use, knowledge of STIs, and several sexual risk behaviors.

Results. Overall, 75% of young African American women reported inconsistent condom use in the past 60 days. Surprisingly, under relatively higher levels of fear, young women with high STI knowledge were more likely than were those with low STI knowledge to exhibit inconsistent condom use in the past 60 days (89% vs 80%; ² = 4.32; P .04) and during the last sexual intercourse with a main sexual partner (76% vs 70%; ² = 8.06; P .01).

Conclusions. Most HIV prevention interventions focus on increasing knowledge about the transmission of STIs. However, other contextual factors such as fear of abuse because of negotiating condom use may heighten the risk of HIV infection. Our findings highlight the need for combining dating violence prevention activities with STI and HIV prevention programs targeting young African American women.