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HIV Knowledge Among a Sample of Puerto Rican and Mexican Men and Women

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Abstract

This study assessed levels of HIV knowledge and identified factors associated with HIV knowledge among a sample of heterosexual Puerto Rican and Mexican men and women, ages 18 to 45. The sample consisted of 144 men and women living in San Diego County, California, who self-identified as being of Mexican ethnicity and 209 men and women living in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, who self-identified as Puerto Rican. Interviews were conducted by trained, bilingual interviewers. Data were collected on demographic variables, attitudes towards decision-making in relationships, and HIV knowledge and risk behaviors. Puerto Rican individuals were significantly more likely than Mexican individuals to respond correctly to almost one-half of the 12 HIV knowledge items. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that higher levels of education, greater U.S. acculturation, legal status and birth in the United States, a self-focused locus of control in relationships, and being male were predictors of higher knowledge.

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Correspondence to Sana Loue.

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Loue, S., Cooper, M. & Fiedler, J. HIV Knowledge Among a Sample of Puerto Rican and Mexican Men and Women. Journal of Immigrant Health 5, 59–65 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022951624742

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022951624742

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