African-American Heterosexual Women Facing The HIV/AIDS Pandemic: Giving Voice To Sexual Decision-Making
dc.contributor.advisor | Black, Carolyn J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Hill, Delthea Jean | |
dc.date | 2008 | en |
dc.date.accessioned | 2008-07-07T16:08:35Z | |
dc.date.available | 2008-07-07T16:08:35Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2008-07-07T16:08:35Z | |
dc.degree.discipline | School of Social Work | en |
dc.degree.grantor | Indiana University | en |
dc.degree.level | Ph.D. | en |
dc.description.abstract | HIV infection is escalating among African-American heterosexual women in alarming rates. African-American women are 23 times as likely to be infected with the AIDS virus as white women. African-American women account for 72% of new HIV cases among women in 29 states. The risk of contracting HIV virus is highest in African-American communities, which inevitably places African-American women at higher risk than other populations of women. The purpose of this study was to advance knowledge regarding what is unknown about risky sexual behaviors among African-American heterosexual women by giving them the “voice” to share their own personal experiences in their natural environments. I examined participants’ perceptions of risk for contracting HIV/AIDS in relationships with male partners. This qualitative research design focused on a constant comparative analysis. I conducted one focus group [four members and one recorder] along with seven individual interviews, of African-American heterosexual women involved in the Women In Motion [WIM] HIV/AIDS prevention program. The following three health behavior frameworks were examined as a means of understanding the limitations of existing models of sexual risk behaviors among African-American women: The Health Belief Model (HBM), the Transtheoretical Change Model, and the Black feminist perspective. Gaps in the literature included insufficient knowledge of how cultural taboos and myths influence sexual decision-making. An overview of the findings of this study has been explicated under the following three main headings: (1) Observation, (2) Interpretation, and (3) Application. The results of the study are discussed under the following three main categories 1) Understanding Sexual Decision-Making, 2) Understanding Intimacy, and 3) Understanding HIV/AIDS Prevention With Male Partners. In conclusion, sexual decision-making in this inquiry became an all encompassing construct based on African-American women’s perceptions of how they viewed the paradox of sexual needs in intimate relationships with male partners and the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. | en |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1805/1633 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://dx.doi.org/10.7912/C2/1166 | |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en |
dc.subject | HIV/AIDS Prevention | en |
dc.subject | Perceptions Of Risk | en |
dc.subject | Gender Roles | en |
dc.subject | Cultural Aspects | en |
dc.subject | Power Disparity | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | African American women -- Attitudes | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | AIDS (Disease) -- Public opinion | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | African American women -- Psychology | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | African American women -- Sexual behavior | en |
dc.subject.lcsh | AIDS (Disease) -- Prevention | en |
dc.title | African-American Heterosexual Women Facing The HIV/AIDS Pandemic: Giving Voice To Sexual Decision-Making | en |
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