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The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

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from a study group <strong>of</strong> 52 youths who were <strong>HIV</strong> seropositive <strong>and</strong> had<br />

been interviewed repeatedly. Focus was on youths already<br />

seroconverted. <strong>The</strong> ranges <strong>of</strong> lifestyles, scenes, <strong>and</strong> subcultures that<br />

characterize their lives were identified. Youths were recruited from<br />

community-based agencies, support groups, <strong>and</strong> snowball sampling from<br />

street contacts. Some had participated in other studies before this project<br />

began.<br />

<strong>The</strong> strength <strong>of</strong> the qualitative data presented here rests on the<br />

observational <strong>and</strong> networking skills <strong>of</strong> the researchers. <strong>The</strong>refore, the<br />

personal <strong>and</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional backgrounds <strong>and</strong> expertise <strong>of</strong> the ethnographers<br />

in working with the population <strong>and</strong> in conducting ethnographic work<br />

were central assets <strong>of</strong> the current study.’ This expertise allowed for rapid<br />

identification <strong>of</strong> the ranges <strong>and</strong> characteristics <strong>of</strong> the social roles <strong>and</strong><br />

niches occupied by youth living with <strong>HIV</strong> <strong>and</strong> AIDS.<br />

Involvement in homosexual activity was a pathway for each <strong>of</strong> these<br />

youths’ becoming substance users <strong>and</strong> their subsequent activities.<br />

Because the youths were gay-identified, they <strong>of</strong>ten were stigmatized <strong>and</strong><br />

marginalized from families or peers. <strong>The</strong> degree <strong>of</strong> marginalization<br />

varied depending on the degree <strong>of</strong> financial disenfranchisement. Some<br />

lived in underclass sex <strong>and</strong> drug trade zones in the inner city <strong>and</strong> were<br />

totally disconnected. Other middle-class youths were connected to the<br />

support services <strong>of</strong> community-based agencies.<br />

<strong>The</strong> cases selected for this chapter represent themes emerging from the<br />

total study group. In general, youths varied in how <strong>and</strong> when they<br />

identified themselves as gay or bisexual, in their socioeconomic<br />

backgrounds <strong>and</strong> resources, <strong>and</strong> in the circumstances <strong>of</strong> their initiation<br />

<strong>and</strong> continuation <strong>of</strong> substance use. Nevertheless, similarities in<br />

behavioral patterns <strong>and</strong> themes illustrate how social settings, subcultural<br />

groupings, <strong>and</strong> activities affect <strong>HIV</strong> risk-seeking <strong>and</strong> risk-taking<br />

behavior. <strong>The</strong>re were also parallels in their reasons for involvement in<br />

methamphetamine-using subcultures. However, the youths’ methods <strong>and</strong><br />

abilities for ending methamphetamine use <strong>and</strong> disassociating from these<br />

social worlds differed, <strong>and</strong> those differences suggest factors that must<br />

influence prevention programs.<br />

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