Social factors related to syringe sharing among injecting partners: a focus on gender

The study of social networks has become an increasingly utilized method of examining the relationship between injection drug users' social environment and risk of HIV. This study examined relational aspects of two injection drug users (IDUs) within a single social network as they relate to sharing syringes. Data presented in this study were derived from baseline interviews of 508 IDUs from Baltimore, MD. Analyses were performed separately for male and female participants in an effort to understand gender differences in social aspects of syringe sharing. Among this sample, women shared syringes with a significantly higher percentage of injecting partners compared to men. In separate multilevel logistic regression models, significant variables associated with males' and females' syringe sharing were: sharing drugs daily with female injecting partners, injecting partners' provision of drugs when indexes' were withdrawing, being sexual partners, and injecting partners' injecting speedballs. Factors associated with male injecting dyads sharing of syringes were: being kin, injecting partners' injection of heroin and daily drug use, and drinking alcohol together. Results from this study demonstrate the usefulness of examining relationship characteristics of injecting dyads related to syringe sharing as they differ between men and women.