DOCSLIB.ORG

Incarceration and Sexual Risk: an Examination of How Incarceration Shapes the Context of HIV Risk

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Incarceration and Sexual Risk: an Examination of How Incarceration Shapes the Context of HIV Risk Incarceration and Sexual Risk: An examination of how incarceration shapes the context of HIV risk by Andrea K. Knittel A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Health Behavior and Health Education) in The University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Rachel Campbell Snow, Chair Associate Professor Jeffrey D. Morenoff Assistant Professor Derek Griffith Associate Research Scientist Rick L. Riolo To my parents ii Acknowledgements This dissertation would not exist were it not for the incredible network of family, friends, colleagues, and mentors who have been with me throughout this process. I must thank my dissertation committee for their dedication to my academic and personal growth, and in particular Rachel, my chair, for career guidance, mentorship, and support. In addition, I am grateful for the Medical Scientist Training Program, the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, Rackham Graduate School, the Center for Social Epidemiology and Public Health, and the Point Foundation for funding my work, and their faculty and staff who worked tirelessly with me to ensure my success. The Center for the Study of Complex Systems faculty and staff have also provided incredible computational resources as well as moral support. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to Ruti, Allison, Becca, Ebony, Natalie, Jonetta, and Carmen for critical resources, reassurances, and revisions during the last four years. I am so lucky to not only be standing on the shoulders of giants, but to be bolstered on all sides by these incredible colleagues and friends. To my family, I thank you for putting up with the challenges this program has brought, and for believing in me through them all. Finally, to each Alicia, Ash, and Laura, I have drawn strength and inspiration from your friendship and love in my life, and could not have done this without you. Thank you. iii Table of Contents Dedication ..............................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................iii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................v List of Tables .........................................................................................................................vi Abstract ..................................................................................................................................ix Chapter I. Introduction ....................................................................................................1 II. Incarceration and HIV: Examining the relationship between incarceration and sexual risk................................................................................................43 III. Development and validation of an agent-based model of sexual partnership......................................................................................................98 IV. Modeling the effects of incarceration on sexual behavior and sexual partnerships ....................................................................................................146 V. Conclusion .....................................................................................................178 iv List of Figures Figure 1.1. Full conceptual model linking high prevalence of male incarceration to community and individual level HIV risk. ............................................................................4 Figure 2.1. Reduced conceptual model describing the relationship between incarceration and sexual decision-making/sexual network structure ..........................................................48 Figure 3.1. Schematic of model implementation ...................................................................134 Figure 3.2. Differences in distribution of partners in the past 12 months .............................135 Figure 3.3. Differences in distribution of number of lifetime partners ..................................136 Figure 4.1. Base model results for partners in the last year ...................................................175 v List of Tables Table 2.1. Power calculations to detect differences in mean number of partners, and to test for equivalence in mean number of partners ...................................................................53 Table 2.2. Demographic descriptive statistics for the full survey population and analytical subsets ...................................................................................................................................80 Table 2.3. Criminal justice involvement descriptive statistics for the analytic subsets .........81 Table 2.4. Sexual experience descriptive statistics for the analytical subsets .......................82 Table 2.5. Estimated differences in means and proportions between incarcerated respondents and unincarcerated respondents .........................................................................82 Table 2.6. Bivariate relationships between sexual behaviors and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables ..................................................................................83 Table 2.7. Multivariate relationships between number of lifetime sexual partners and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables ......................................................85 Table 2.8. Multivariate relationships between number of sexual partners in the past 12 months and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables ..................................86 Table 2.9. Multivariate relationships between proportion with concurrent partners and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables ......................................................87 Table 2.10. Multivariate relationships between proportion reporting partners with concurrent partners and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables ...............88 Table 2.11. Relationships between sexual behavior measures and incarceration history controlling for propensity score .............................................................................................89 Table 2.12. Estimated effects of incarceration on sexual behavior measures using propensity score matching .....................................................................................................89 Table 2.13. Demographic descriptive statistics for the full survey population and analytical subsets at Wave II..................................................................................................90 Table 2.14. Criminal justice involvement/delinquency descriptive statistics for the analytic subsets at Wave II ....................................................................................................90 vi Table 2.15. Sexual behavior descriptive statistics for the analytic subsets at Wave II .........91 Table 2.16. Estimated differences in means between individuals who will later be incarcerated (by Wave III) and those who will not be incarcerated, measured at Wave II ...91 Table 2.17. Bivariate relationships between sexual behaviors and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables at Wave II ................................................................92 Table 2.18. Multivariate relationships between number of lifetime partners, future incarceration, and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables at Wave II ......93 Table 2.19. Multivariate relationships between proportion of respondents with concurrent partners, future incarceration, and demographic and criminal justice involvement variables at Wave II ...............................................................................................................94 Table 3.1. Key characteristics of existing models of partner selection ................................126 Table 3.2. Agent-level Characteristics ...................................................................................126 Table 3.3. Run-time Settable Model Parameters ...................................................................127 Table 3.4. Parameter effects on number of lifetime partners .................................................129 Table 3.5. Parameter effects on number of partners in the past 12 months ...........................129 Table 3.6. Parameter effects on rate of concurrency .............................................................129 Table 3.7. Parameter effects on quality correlation between partners ...................................129 Table 3.8. Final parameterization of the model and type of parameter sources ....................130 Table 3.9. Number of sexual partners over the past 12 months, the past 5 years, and since age 18 reported in the National Health and Social Life Survey (1992) compared with model output ..........................................................................................................................131 Table 3.10. Number of sexual partners over the past 12 months and over the lifetime reported in the National Survey of Family Growth (2002) compared to model output ........132 Table 3.11. Number of sexual partners over the past 12 months and over the lifetime reported in the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health ....................................132 Table 3.12. Rates of concurrency as reported
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Adolescent Social Networks and Sexual Practices Wassie Kebede
    Social Networks and Sexual Practices ____________________________________________________________________________ Adolescent Social Networks and Sexual Practices Wassie Kebede B.A., Addis Ababa University M.A., Addis Ababa University A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In Social Work & Social Development © Wassie Kebede, 2009 Addis Ababa University All Rights Reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopying or other means, without the permission of the author Social Networks and Sexual Practices ii ___________________________________________________________________________ Social Networks and Sexual Practices iii ______________________________________________________________________________ Abstract This study examines adolescent social networks and sexual practices (and how they differ among males and females of different ages) among ninth-grade students in two high schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Social exchange theory and group socialization theory guide the study. Other theories that the study utilizes are the theory of homophily, balance theory, the theory of self-interest, and the theory of early sexual practices. Up to now, there has been no systematic research in Ethiopia or the rest of Africa on the relationship between adolescent social networks and sexual practices. Mixed-methods research guides the study, which consists of two parts. Study A generated data from a 264-item survey of 167 respondents, to which parametric and nonparametric statistics (using a consistent alpha of .05) are applied. Study B used 10 critical cases to generate qualitative data. Critical cases are study participants selected based on their capacity to provide reliable data of interest. UCINET 6.0 was used to draw social network diagrams, and qualitative data were transcribed and subjected to content analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • Sexual Network Analysis of a Gonorrhoea Outbreak P De, a E Singh, T Wong, W Yacoub, a M Jolly
    280 Sex Transm Infect: first published as 10.1136/sti.2003.007187 on 4 August 2004. Downloaded from ORIGINAL ARTICLE Sexual network analysis of a gonorrhoea outbreak P De, A E Singh, T Wong, W Yacoub, A M Jolly ............................................................................................................................... Sex Transm Infect 2004;80:280–285. doi: 10.1136/sti.2003.007187 Objectives: Sexual partnerships can be viewed as networks in order to study disease transmission. We examined the transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a localised outbreak in Alberta, Canada, using measures of network centrality to determine the association between risk of infection of network members and their position within the sexual network. We also compared risk in smaller disconnected components with a large network centred on a social venue. Methods: During the investigation of the outbreak, epidemiological data were collected on gonorrhoea cases and their sexual contacts from STI surveillance records. In addition to traditional contact tracing information, subjects were interviewed about social venues they attended in the past year where casual sexual partnering may have occurred. Sexual networks were constructed by linking together named See end of article for authors’ affiliations partners. Univariate comparisons of individual network member characteristics and algebraic measures of ....................... network centrality were completed. Results: The sexual networks consisted of 182 individuals, of whom 107 were index cases with laboratory Correspondence to: Prithwish De, Department confirmed gonorrhoea and 75 partners of index cases. People who had significantly higher information of Epidemiology and centrality within each of their local networks were found to have patronised a popular motel bar in the Biostatistics, McGill main town in the region (p = 0.05).
    [Show full text]
  • Religion Networks and Hiv/Aids in Rural Malawi
    RELIGION NETWORKS AND HIV/AIDS IN RURAL MALAWI DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Ohio State University By jimi adams * * * * * Ohio State University 2007 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Kazimierz M. Slomczynski, Advisor Professor James W. Moody, Outside Member _______________________ Professor Korie Edwards Advisor Sociology Graduate Program Professor Steven H. Lopez Copyright by jimi adams 2007 ABSTRACT Sub-Saharan Africa’s residents represent approximately two-thirds of the nearly 40 million global HIV/AIDS cases, while comprising only about one-tenth of the world’s population. In the rural settings where most inhabitants of SSA live, religious organizations are the only formal organizations present, and virtually all residents of SSA participate in a religious organization. Many have theorized a relationship between religion and HIV/AIDS, suggesting alternately its helpful and harmful potential in this crisis. The existing research conceptualizes religion, HIV risk and the connection between them by studying individuals, organizations, or aggregations of individuals and organizations. In this dissertation, I demonstrate the adjustments a network perspective contributes to researchers’ ability to understand religious organizational responses to this epidemic, the nature of HIV-risk and, perhaps most importantly, how these are linked. The resulting conceptualization suggests some of the first mechanisms that demonstrate how
    [Show full text]
  • The Effect of Social Media Use on Physical Isolation in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder
    Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2021 The Effect of Social Media use on Physical Isolation in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder Davena Limitless Longshore Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Clinical Psychology Commons, Computer Sciences Commons, and the Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Davena L. Longshore has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Georita Frierson, Committee Chairperson, Psychology Faculty Dr. Alethea Baker, Committee Member, Psychology Faculty Dr. Michael Johnson, University Reviewer, Psychology Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.D. Walden University 2021 Abstract The Effect of Social Media use on Physical Isolation in Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder. by Davena L. Longshore MS, Walden University, 2017 MIS, University of Phoenix, 2008 BA, Florida Atlantic University, 2004 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University August 2021 Abstract Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience extreme interpersonal conflict, crippling their ability to sustain successful relationships.
    [Show full text]
  • Chains of Affection: the Structure of Adolescent Romantic and Sexual Networks
    Chains of Affection: The Structure of Adolescent Romantic and Sexual Networks Peter S. Bearman* Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy Columbia University James Moody Department of Sociology Ohio State University Katherine Stovel Department of Sociology University of Washington 9960 words 10 figures 5 tables Data for this paper are drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a program project designed by J. Richard Udry and Peter Bearman, and funded by a grant HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with cooperative funding participation by the following agencies: The National Cancer Institute; The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders; the National Institute on Drug Abuse; the National Institute of General Medical Sciences; the National Institute of Mental health; the Office of AIDS Research, NIH; the Office of Director, NIH; The National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS; Office of Minority Health, Centers for Disease Control and prevention, HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, HHS; and the National Science Foundation. The authors thank Douglas White, Martina Morris, Mark Hancock, and J. Richard Udry for helpful comments on previous drafts of this paper. *Corresponding author. Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy. 814 SIPA Building, Columbia University, New York NY 10027. Email: [email protected] 1 Abstract: Recognizing the actual structure of sexual networks is critical for modeling the potential for disease transmission, if disease is spread via sexual contact.
    [Show full text]
  • Likelihood-Based Inference for Stochastic Models of Sexual Network Formation
    Likelihood-Based Inference for Stochastic Models of Sexual Network Formation Mark S. Handcock Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences Department of Statistics University of Washington, Seattle, WA James Holland Jones1 Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases University of Washington, Seattle, WA 29 January 2003 Working Paper #29 Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences University of Washington Box 354322 Seattle, WA 98195-4322, USA 1Corresponding Author: Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences, Box 354320, Seattle, WA 98195- 4320, email: [email protected], Phone: 206-221-6874, Fax: 206-221-6873 Abstract Sexually-Transmitted Diseases (STDs) constitute a major public health concern. Mathematical models for the transmission dynamics of STDs indicate that heterogeneity in sexual activity level allow them to persist even when the typical behavior of the population would not support endemicity. This insight focuses attention on the distribution of sexual activity level in a pop- ulation. In this paper, we develop several stochastic process models for the formation of sexual partnership networks. Using likelihood-based model selection procedures, we assess the fit of the different models to three large distributions of sexual partner counts: (1) Rakai, Uganda, (2) Sweden, and (3) the USA. Five of the six single-sex networks were fit best by the negative binomial model. The American women’s network was best fit by a power-law model, the Yule. For most networks, several competing models fit approximately equally well. These results sug- gest three conclusions: (1) no single unitary process clearly underlies the formation of these sexual networks, (2) behavioral heterogeneity plays an essential role in network structure, (3) substantial model uncertainty exists for sexual network degree distributions.
    [Show full text]
  • NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Epidemiology
    NIH Public Access Author Manuscript Epidemiology. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 June 27. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptPublished NIH-PA Author Manuscript in final edited NIH-PA Author Manuscript form as: Epidemiology. 2012 November ; 23(6): 845–851. doi:10.1097/EDE.0b013e31826c2b7e. Sexual Networks, Surveillance, and Geographical Space during Syphilis Outbreaks in Rural North Carolina Irene A Dohertya, Marc L Serreb, Dionne Gesinkc, Adaora A Adimoraa,b, Stephen Q Muthd, Peter A Leonea, and William C Millera,b aSchool of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC bGillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC cDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto Ontario, Canada dQuintus-ential Solutions, Colorado Springs, CO Abstract Background—Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) spread along sexual networks whose structural characteristics promote transmission that routine surveillance may not capture. Cases who have partners from multiple localities may operate as spatial network bridges, thereby facilitating geographical dissemination. We investigated the relationships between surveillance, sexual networks, and spatial bridges for syphilis outbreaks in rural counties of North Carolina. Methods—We selected from the state health department’s surveillance database cases diagnosed with primary, secondary, or early latent syphilis during October 1998 - December 2002 residing in central and southeastern North Carolina, along with their sex partners, and their social contacts irrespective of infection status. We applied matching algorithms to eliminate duplicate names and create a unique roster of partnerships from which networks were compiled and graphed. Network members were differentiated by disease status and county of residence.
    [Show full text]
  • The Use of Social Network Analysis to Quantify the Importance of Social Venues in an Infectious Syphilis Outbreak in Calgary, Alberta: a Pilot Study
    University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 2010 The Use of Social Network Analysis to Quantify the Importance of Social Venues in an Infectious Syphilis Outbreak in Calgary, Alberta: A pilot study Fur, Rhonda Lynne Fur, R. L. (2010). The Use of Social Network Analysis to Quantify the Importance of Social Venues in an Infectious Syphilis Outbreak in Calgary, Alberta: A pilot study (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/16933 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/47831 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The Use of Social Network Analysis to Quantify the Importance of Social Venues in an Infectious Syphilis Outbreak in Calgary, Alberta: A pilot study by Rhonda Lynne Fur A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES CALGARY, ALBERTA MAY 2010 © Rhonda Lynne Fur 2010 The author of this thesis has granted the University of Calgary a non-exclusive license to reproduce and distribute copies of this thesis to users of the University of Calgary Archives. Copyright remains with the author. Theses and dissertations available in the University of Calgary Institutional Repository are solely for the purpose of private study and research.
    [Show full text]
  • Retrospective Network Imputation from Life History Data: the Impact of Designs
    Social Network Models Sociological Methodology 2020, Vol. 50(1) 131–167 Ó American Sociological Association 2020 DOI: 10.1177/0081175020905624 3 http://sm.sagepub.com RETROSPECTIVE NETWORK IMPUTATION FROM LIFE HISTORY DATA: THE IMPACT OF DESIGNS Yue Yu* Emily J. Smithy Carter T. Butts*,z Abstract Retrospective life history designs are among the few practical approaches for collecting longitudinal network information from large populations, particu- larly in the context of relationships like sexual partnerships that cannot be measured via digital traces or documentary evidence. While all such designs afford the ability to “peer into the past” vis-a`-vis the point of data collection, little is known about the impact of the specific design parameters on the time horizon over which such information is useful. In this article, we investigate the effect of two different survey designs on retrospective network imputation: (1) intervalN, where subjects are asked to provide information on all partners within the past N time units; and (2) lastK, where subjects are asked to pro- vide information about their K most recent partners. We simulate a “ground truth” sexual partnership network using a published model of Krivitsky (2012), and we then sample this data using the two retrospective designs *Department of Computer Science, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA yDepartments of Mathematics and Sociology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, CA, USA zDepartments of Sociology, Statistics, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA Corresponding Author: Carter T. Butts, Department of Sociology, University of California-Irvine, SSPA 2145, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Context, Sexual Networks, and Racial Disparities in Rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections
    SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE Social Context, Sexual Networks, and Racial Disparities in Rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections Adaora A. Adimora1,2 and Victor J. Schoenbach2 1Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, and 2Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Background. Social context (demographic, socioeconomic, macroeconomic, and sociopolitical features of the environment) influences the epidemiology and consequences of individual behaviors that affect health outcomes. This article examines the role of social context in heterosexual networks that facilitate the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), particularly in relation to persistent racial disparities in rates of STIs in the United States. Methods. Review of the medical, public health, and social science literature. Results. Contextual factors, such as poverty, discrimination, epidemiology of illicit drug use in the community, ratio of men to women, incarceration rates, and racial segregation, influence sexual behavior and sexual networks directly and indirectly through a variety of mechanisms. Disparities in these contextual features likely contribute substantially to the persistence of marked racial disparities in rates of STIs. Conclusions. Given the importance of contextual factors and the sharply contrasting social contexts for blacks and whites, exclusive emphasis on individual risk factors and determinants is unlikely to produce solutions that will significantly decrease HIV rates among blacks. Effective HIV prevention in this population will require mul- tidisciplinary research to address the contextual factors that promote patterns of sexual networks that facilitate transmission of STIs. Sexual networks are critical in the spread of sexually CRITICAL ROLE OF SEXUAL NETWORKS transmitted infections (STIs).
    [Show full text]
  • Social Networks IZA Dpno
    IZA DP No. 4621 Social Networks Joan de Martí Yves Zenou December 2009 DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor Social Networks Joan de Martí Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona GSE Yves Zenou Stockholm University, IFN and IZA Discussion Paper No. 4621 December 2009 IZA P.O. Box 7240 53072 Bonn Germany Phone: +49-228-3894-0 Fax: +49-228-3894-180 E-mail: [email protected] Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4621 December 2009 ABSTRACT Social Networks We survey the literature on social networks by putting together the economics, sociological and physics/applied mathematics approaches, showing their similarities and differences.
    [Show full text]
  • Sexual Networks As Social Capital
    UJ Sociology, Anthropology & Development Studies W E D N E S D A Y S E M I N A R Hosted by the Department of Sociology and the Department of Anthropology & Development Studies Meeting no 25/2009 To be held at 15h30 on Wednesday, 9 September 2009, in the Anthropology & Development Studies Seminar Room, DRing 506, Kingsway campus Sexual networks as social capital Prof Robert Thornton Wits Department of Anthropology - Please do not copy or cite without authors’ permission - - Programme and other information online at www.uj.ac.za/sociology - Sexual networks as social capital: Why 'multiple concurrent sexual partnerships' may be rational responses to unstable social networks Robert Thornton Abstract: While multiple concurrent sexual partnerships (MCPs) are prevalent in southern Africa and have been identified as a primary cause of very high HIV prevalence in this region, many sexually active individuals appear to neglect their biological risk of HIV infection in order to maximise their 'social capital.' Through increasing the size and diversity of their sexual networks they extend their social networks through sexual liaisons. This maximisation of social capital also maximises their risk of infection. The result seems 'irrational' when viewed from the perspective of any individual actor, but at a larger, social scale, the result is greater 'social capital' and, as a consequence, better access to many other social and economic goods. This article argues that people in ordinary, non- promiscuous relationships, and those who are in unstable and less- connected parts of the network that are most dynamically active in building their sexual networks, thus increasing their exposure to HIV infection.
    [Show full text]