Marseille 2007
Marseille 2007
Abstract book
Go Back

Abstract #474  -  "They might get it- and I can't tell them I have it:" Understanding sexual behaviors of girls living with perinatally acquired HIV
Session:
  12.1: Ageing and Changeing (Parallel) on Monday @ 11.00-12.30 in PR Chaired by Gerald Gorn, Lorraine Sherr
Authors:
  Presenting Author:   Dr Stephanie Marhefka - New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, United States
 
  Additional Authors:  Dr Rogerio Pinto, Ms Cidna Valentin, Dr Claude Ann Mellins,  
Aim:
With the roll-out and scale-up of antiretroviral therapy worldwide, many girls with perinatal HIV will likely live into adolescence and adulthood. Reports from multiple countries show some girls with perinatal HIV engage in sexual behavior and experience pregnancies. This study explores how girls with HIV experience sexual development and behavior while living with a perinatally acquired, chronic, life-threatening, highly stigmatized sexually transmitted disease.
 
Method / Issue:
Interviewed 20 girls ages 12-16 years who were: perinatally infected with HIV, aware of their HIV, and attending pediatric HIV clinics in New York, NY, U.S. A self-administered computerized questionnaire assessed girls sexual behaviors. A semi-structured qualitative interview assessed factors affecting girls sexual behaviors; texts were thematically coded and analyzed.
 
Results / Comments:
Girls (M age =14 years, SD = 1) were primarily Black and Latina. Twelve had kissed a boy. Few reported engaging in oral (n=3), vaginal (n=2), or anal sex (n=1). Most knew HIV could be passed via vaginal sex (n=18), but fewer knew that anal sex (n=9) posed transmission risks. Girls expressed concerns about transmitting HIV to [potential] sexual partners, which often resulted in avoiding or delaying sex. Girls discussed a desire to disclose their HIV status to [potential] partners, but also discussed the risksincluding rejection from partners and others who may subsequently learn their status. Similarly, girls discussed the importance of condom use, but reported fears about how to ask guys to use condoms and fears that guys would question why condoms were necessary.
 
Discussion:
Some girls living with perinatal HIV may delay sexual debut due to HIV transmission concerns. Others may explore their sexuality with incomplete knowledge of transmission risks and insufficient skills for negotiating safer sex. This presentation will discuss the need for targeted interventions to help these girls gain information and resolve tensions around disclosure and condom use.
 
Go Back

  Disclaimer   |   T's & C's   |   Copyright Notice    www.AIDSImpact.com www.AIDSImpact.com