Locus of control and HIV risk among a sample of Mexican and Puerto Rican women

The disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on Hispanic women in the United States has been variously attributed to a failure to utilize protective measures due to low levels of HIV knowledge, a denial or minimization of risk, and conflicts with cultural norms. It has been hypothesized that women's relative lack of power in relationships may be associated with higher risk sexual behavior. We examined the relationship between higher risk sexual behavior and perceived locus of control in sexual relationships among a sample of Puerto Rican and Mexican women. We interviewed 71 women of self-reported Mexican ethnicity in San Diego, California, and 79 women of self-reported Puerto Rican ethnicity in Cleveland, Ohio, to examine the relationship between HIV risk, HIV knowledge, and locus of control. Univariate logistic regression indicates that among Puerto Rican women, the perception that locus of control in a sexual relationship resides in the male partner was significantly associated with increased HIV risk, while younger age was significantly associated with increased risk among Mexican women only. In a combined sample of both Puerto Rican and Mexican women, multiple logistic regression analysis indicates that younger age, increased length of residence in the United States, and an other-focused locus of control are significantly associated with increased HIV risk. Women who have been in the United States for relatively longer periods of time may be more likely to integrate U.S. sexual norms into their own behavior and may, as a consequence, be at higher risk of HIV infection. Increased HIV prevention efforts must be made available to Mexican and Puerto Rican women born outside of the United States. These prevention efforts must necessarily focus not only on HIV prevention strategies, but also on the dynamics within male-female intimate relations. Increased attention to younger Puerto Rican and Mexican women is also needed.