Minimizing the Risk of Pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and HIV Among Incarcerated Adolescent Girls: Identifying Potential Points of Intervention

• NCJ Number: 225570
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 35 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 1500-1514
• Author(s): Janet S. St. Lawrence; C. Edward Snodgrass; Angela Robertson; Connie Baird-Thomas
• Date Published: December 2008
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01DA17509
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study ascertained the risk for pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV among a sample of 234 incarcerated female juveniles, with a view toward identifying potential points of intervention.

Abstract

The findings indicate that only the individual-level variables measured were significantly associated with sexual risk for pregnancy, STDs, and HIV among these incarcerated female juveniles. The individual-level variables of age, age at sexual debut, gang membership, higher perceptions of being at risk for STDs, and higher levels of substance use were each positively correlated with sexual risk. As a whole, this set of individual-level variables accounted for 40 percent of the variance in the sexual risk index. Contrary to previous studies, partner, peer, and family influence were not significant predictors of sexual risk. This may be explained by differences in the sample characteristics for the current study and previous studies. The findings of the current study are encouraging, in that they suggest an intervention can be implemented directly to delinquent adolescent girls during the period of their incarceration without having to recruit peers, partners, or families in the intervention. Based on these findings, the authors have developed an intervention that is now being delivered to delinquent girls before their release from the correctional facility. The women involved in the intervention will be followed for a year after their release in order to assess the durability of intervention outcomes. Based on self-reports and intake screening tests, the study obtained data on demographic variables, individual-level variables, partner-level variables, peer-influence variables, and family-level measures. The dependent variable was sexual-risk index. Recruitment and baseline assessments occurred during the standard 7-day intake period during a 22-month period from September 2004 through June 2006. 3 tables and 48 references