Individuals with HIV face a variety of long-term health and mental health issues related to their disease, including indefinite antiretroviral adherence with numerous side effects, the stigma around HIV status disclosure, and highly prevalent anxiety and depression, among others. Affecting 29-68% of HIV-infected outpatients in recent studies, intimate partner violence (IPV) is likely an important barrier to achieving optimal health. With such high prevalence and with well-documented decrements in physical and mental health as consequences, it is likely that IPV plays a role in increased negative health outcomes in HIV-infected individuals because of their increased psychological and immunological vulnerability. The proposed study will develop a program of research for the applicant that investigates the abuses of power in the intimate relationships of HIV-infected outpatients in an urban setting. Specifically, a qualitative phase will provide a qualitative description of four domains of relationship violence among HIV-infected individuals (physical, sexual, emotional, and the novel category """"""""HIV-related""""""""), while a survey phase will investigate the health related outcomes of multiple domains of interpersonal violence and test a hypothesized mediated model.
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