Multiplex Relationships and HIV: Implications for Network-based Interventions

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Abby E. Rudolph, Boston University; Natalie Crawford, Emory University; Carl Latkin, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Crystal Fuller Lewis, Nathan Kline Institute
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-04-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1454-2
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: AIDS and Behavior
• ISSN: 1090-7165
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 1219
• End Page: 1227
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants R01 DA022144 (PI: Lewis, CF) and K01 DA033879 (PI: Rudolph, AE).
• Keywords: Multiplexity; SOCIAL NETWORKS; Science & Technology; GENDER-DIFFERENCES; SHOOTING GALLERY ATTENDANCE; RISK BEHAVIORS; COCAINE USE; Social networks; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Social Sciences; PEER-DRIVEN INTERVENTION; Biomedical Social Sciences; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; INJECTION-DRUG USERS; Social Sciences, Biomedical; PERCEIVED NORMS; Exchange sex; NETWORK CHARACTERISTICS; Risk networks; EXCHANGING SEX
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

The number of network members and the roles they play can influence risk behaviors and consequently intervention strategies to reduce HIV transmission. We recruited 652 people who use drugs (PWUD) from socially disadvantaged neighborhoods in New York City (07/2006–06/2009). Interviewer-administered surveys ascertained demographic, behavioral, and network data. We used logistic regression, stratified by exchange sex, to assess the relationship between HIV status and the number of network members with different roles, treated as independent and multiplex (i.e., drug + sex). Those with more multiplex risk ties were significantly more likely to be HIV positive, but only among those not reporting exchange sex (AOR = 3.2). Among those reporting exchange sex, men reporting recent male sex partners were more likely to report HIV positive status (AOR = 12.6). These data suggest that sex and drug relationships among PWUD are interrelated. Interventions that target multiplex rather than single-role relationships may be more effective in influencing behavior change.