There is growing evidence that recent immigrant Central American and Mexican women in the United States are at increased risk for HIV infection. The migratory transitional period, encompassing the migratory journey itself, plus the initial adaptation to life in the US, constitutes the period of particular risk. Recently immigrated women are in a """"""""liminal phase,"""""""" both in the transit period and the adaptation period, in which they lack social support networks, economic resources, and access to information. In their liminal phase, Latina immigrant women may be vulnerable to situations and behaviors that exacerbate their risk for HIV beyond that of more stable immigrant populations. Although ethnographic data on urban female immigrants from Central America and Mexico suggest that sexual risk taking may be common during transitional phases of immigration, there is as yet no quantitative data to support this. The purpose of this study is to describe and compare the prevalence of risky sexual behaviors among recent and established Latina immigrant women living in Houston, Texas. The primary focus of analysis will be on exchange sex, coercive sex, and unprotected sex. This study will provide epidemiologic data that will elucidate the specific contexts and behaviors associated with transitional migratory episodes. Respondent driven sampling (RDS) will be used to recruit Central American and Mexican women from Latino risk areas of Houston. Risk areas are those with high prevalence of HIV, Latino population, and poverty. Recency of immigration will be defined by the number of years of residency in the US: recent immigrants are those who have lived in the US between 0 and 4 years;established immigrants are those who have lived in the US 5 years or more. An interviewer-administered questionnaire will be used to collect information on sexual risk behaviors, demographics, acculturation, and recency of immigration. Multivariate logistic regression will be used to assess the association between recency of immigration and sexual risk behaviors.
This cross-sectional study aims to describe and compare the prevalence of exchange sex, coercive sex, and unprotected sex among recent and established Central American and Mexican women living in Houston, Texas. It is hypothesized that such sexual risk behaviors may increase the risk of HIV infection among recently arrived immigrant women beyond that of more established immigrants. Epidemiologic data derived from this study will help elucidate the contexts and behaviors associated with transitional migratory episodes that increase Latina immigrant women's vulnerability to HIV infection.
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