High-risk behaviors for AIDS among heterosexual alcoholics: a pilot study

A total of 51 (34 men and 17 women) heterosexual alcoholic inpatients were assessed with respect to their engagement in high-risk behaviors for HIV infection and AIDS. Results indicated that a subset of the subjects engaged in frequent and diverse high-risk sexual activities, often had several different sexual partners over a 6-month period, frequently used drugs during sexual activities and sometimes used drugs intravenously. The frequency of high risk behaviors was similar for men and women, but minority subjects engaged in higher levels of high-risk behaviors than did whites. Both age and educational level were inversely related to behavioral risk for HIV infection. Although the current findings are limited due to sample size and representativeness, the results indicate that future research needs to focus on high-risk behaviors for HIV infection among alcoholics, with more attention directed toward prevention and intervention strategies.