Author/Authors :
Merghati-Khoei, Effat Iranian National Center of Addiction Studies (INCAS) - Institution of Risk Behavior Reduction - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Rimaz, Shahnaz Department of Epidemiology - School of Public Health - Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), Tehran, Iran , Korte, Jeffrey E Department of Public Health Sciences - Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) - Charleston South Carolina, United States , Back, Sudie E Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Clinical Neuroscience Division - Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) - Charleston South Carolina, United States , Brady, Kathleen T Clinical and Translational Research. Director - South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute - Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) - Charleston South Carolina, United States , Abad, Masoumeh Member of the Islamic City Council of Tehran Director of Health Division in the City Council, Tehran, Iran , Shamsalizadeh, Neda Iranian National Center of Addiction Studies (INCAS) - Institution of Risk Behavior Reduction - Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract :
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and risky sexual behaviors are serious and overlapping
public health problems that disproportionately affect drug-involved women. Despite the fact
that drug-using women experience extensive IPV, to date, no studies have investigated the association
of IPV and risky sexual behaviors among drug-using women in Iran.
Methods: Drug-using women (N =120) were recruited from a rehabilitation center in Tehran from
March to October, 2009. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2), a standardized questionnaire,
was used to collect data regarding violence. We used t-test and logistic regression models to explore
the relationship between IPV domains and specific sexual risk behavior outcomes using SPSS 21.
Results: The means (sd) for CTS2 domains were as follows: negotiation 4.29 (1.55), psychological
violence 2.55 (1.51), sexual violence 0.37 (1.00), physical abuse 1.17 (1.49), injury 2.18 (1.97), and
the mean total score was 1.69 (0.96). We found significantly higher injury scores, but lower sexual
abuse scores among women with sexually-transmitted infection (STI) compared to women without
STI (p-values 0.030 and <0.0001, respectively). In addition, we found that psychological abuse was
positively associated with STI (p-value 0.03) and increased condom use (p = 0.010), possibly mediated
through an increased likelihood of having multiple partners.
Conclusion: The findings revealed that in Iran drug-involved women experience high rates of IPV
and that IPV is associated with increased risky sexual behavior. Implication: Preventive interventions
for violence that are integrated within drug treatment programs, as well as harm reduction programs
are highly recommended.
