HIV risks of men in methadone maintenance treatment programs who abuse their intimate partners: A forgotten issue

Accumulating findings suggest a relationship between partner violence and H IV risk among women, however, this issue has yet to be adequately researche d among men. This study examines the relationship between perpetrating inti mate partner violence and HIV risk behavior among a sample of men in methad one maintenance treatment programs (MMTPs). Data were collected on 273 sexu ally active men, who were recruited from four inner-city MMTP clinics. More than a third of the sample reported perpetrating intimate physical abuse a nd 15% reported severe physical abuse in the past 12 months. Results from m ultiple logistic regression analyses indicate that after adjusting for demo graphic, poverty, and drug-use factors, men who abused an intimate partner were almost 4 times more likely to have more than one intimate partner, alm ost 3 times more likely to have unprotected anal sex, and 2.6 times more li kely to have sex with a drug-injecting sexual partner than their counterpar ts. This study showed that men who perpetrated partner violence were at hig her risk for HIV transmission. HIV prevention interventions need to conside r the complex relationship between partner violence and HIV risk. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.