Biomedical subjects

T K Logan

Publications and source records attributed to T K Logan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Targeting HIV prevention on African American crack and injection drug users.

The use of drugs in the African American community, particularly crack cocaine, has been linked to sexual risk-taking behavior, which increases the likelihood that persons will become infected with Human Immuno Virus. In order to more fully understand risk-taking behavior and to target interventions among African American men and women, this study used data collected from 1277 individuals residing in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, who were recruited into National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Cooperative Agreement Project from 1993 to 1998. The study compared African Americans treated for Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (n = 292) with African Americans who reported never being treated for a STD (n = 504) with regard to HIV information, awareness, and the number of HIV tests between those with and without STD exposure. Additionally, we examine gender differences among African Americans who have and have not been exposed to STDs on risk behaviors and HIV knowledge, awareness, and testing. It was hypothesized that African American drug users in the STD group would engage in more risk behaviors than those who reported no STDs. Results indicated that individuals in both groups, the STD exposure group and the no STD group, engaged in similar HIV-risky behaviors. However, the STD group used a greater number of different drugs in their lifetime. The STD group reported they were more likely to get HIV and were more frequently tested for HIV. Females with an STD history were more likely to have been in drug user treatment and to perceive themselves as homeless. Both males and females in the STD group were more likely to report involvement in exchanging sex.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗

PubMed2003

Rural and small-town attitudes about alcohol use during pregnancy: a community and provider sample.

CONTEXT: While there has been considerable research on prenatal alcohol use, there have been limited studies focused on women in rural and small-town environments. PURPOSE: This 2-part study examines gender differences in attitudes and perceived barriers to intervention in large community sample of persons living in rural and small-town environments in Kentucky (n = 3,346). The study also examines rural/small-town prenatal service providers' perceptions of barriers to assessment and intervention with pregnant substance abusers (n = 138). METHODS: Surveys were administered to a convenience sample of employees and customers from 16 rural and small-town community outlets. There were 1503 males (45%) and 1843 females (55%) ranging in age from under 18 years old to over 66 years old. Surveys also were mailed to prenatal providers in county health departments of the 13-county study area, with 138 of 149 responding. FINDINGS: Overall results of the community sample suggest that neither males nor females were knowledgeable about the harmful effects of alcohol use during pregnancy. Results also indicate substantial gender differences in alcohol attitudes, knowledge, and perceived barriers. Further, prenatal care providers identified several barriers in assessment and treatment of pregnant women with alcohol use problems in rural and small-town communities, including lack of knowledge and comfort with assessment as well as a lack of available and accessible treatment for referrals.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed2003

Gender differences in the context of sex exchange among individuals with a history of crack use.

Although sex exchange among crack users is associated with risky sexual behavior, research suggests that there is a subgroup of crack users who do not engage in high-risk sex exchange. The purpose of this study is to understand differences among individuals with a history of crack use who have and have not engaged in sex exchange; and to better understand gender differences in the context of sex exchange. The study sample included 148 male (64.2% reported sex exchange) and 149 female heterosexual individuals with a history of crack use (59.1% reported sex exchange). Results suggest that HIV prevention interventions should incorporate gender specific information related to sex exchange for heterosexual crack users. Future research is needed to address the gap in understanding the transition into sex exchange practices for heterosexual male and female drug users.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

A descriptive profile of health problems, health services utilization, and HIV serostatus among incarcerated male drug abusers.

The number of incarcerated offenders is increasing, and many have physical and mental health problems. Drug-involved prisoners exhibit more health problems and greater rates of chronic health problems than prisoners who have not used drugs. Furthermore, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence rates are generally high in prisons. This descriptive study profiles health problems (including HIV) and health services utilization in a sample of drug-involved prisoners from a rural state. HIV seropositivity appeared to be unrelated to drug use, except for marijuana use. Only liver problems were significantly associated with HIV serostatus. A history of mental health treatment was related to a greater likelihood of being HIV+. HIV status was most clearly associated with sexual risk behaviors. These preliminary findings suggest that prisons represent an important site for targeted behavioral health interventions focused on HIV risk reduction.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Women, sex, and HIV: social and contextual factors, meta-analysis of published interventions, and implications for practice and research.

This article is focused on examining social and contextual factors related to HIV-risk behavior for women. Specifically, this article has three main purposes: to review the literature on selected social and contextual factors that contribute to the risk for the heterosexual transmission of HIV and AIDS, to review and conduct a meta-analysis of HIV-prevention interventions targeting adult heterosexual populations, and to suggest future directions for HIV-prevention intervention research and practice. Results suggest that the HIV-prevention interventions reviewed for this article had little impact on sexual risk behavior, that social and contextual factors are often minimally addressed, and that there was a large gap between research and the practice of HIV-prevention intervention.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2002

Alcohol and drug use among rural and urban incarcerated substance abusers.

A number of prisoners use drugs. Limited information is available about the extent to which urban and urban substance abusers differ in their drug use in criminal justice settings. In addition, many believe that rural areas are protected from drug use. However, findings from this study show only marginally statistical significant differences in drug use between incarcerated rural and urban drug users. It was expected that urban drug users would be more drug career involved with consistently higher levels of drug use and associated problems. Specifically, rural drug users in this study were older at age of first use of marijuana and cocaine; report fewer years of cocaine, hallucinogen, and heroin use; and report more alcohol and sedative use. Findings from this study suggest that rural and urban drug users are similar and that rural areas may be protective from some drug use but risky for other drug use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Stalker profiles with and without protective orders: reoffending or criminal justice processing?

Research indicates that stalking is an extension of intimate partner violence. The overall purpose of this study was to better understand stalkers by examining the association between a protective order history and the court's processing of subsequent stalking, and to examine patterns of reoffending. This study examined a sample of 346 males who were charged with stalking in 1999 in one state. Subjects were partitioned into three groups: (1) males without protective orders; (2) males with one prior protective order; and (3) males with two or more prior protective orders. Almost two-thirds of the stalkers had a protective order against them at some point in the study, suggesting that stalking is associated with intimate partner violence. Results also found a linear trend with many of the criminal justice involvement variables and protective order history prior to 1999. Those charged with first-degree stalking were more likely to be found guilty initially, and about one-third of all three study groups had the initial felony stalking charge amended. Of those charged with second-degree stalking, only 7% of the group with two or more protective orders was initially found guilty, which was substantially less than the other two groups. And, when all the amendment dispositions were considered, there were no significant differences by group in guilty and dismissed dispositions for the index stalking charge. Further, consistent with previous criminal justice involvement, the group with two or more protective orders was more likely to have subsequent felony charges than the other two groups. Implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Child custody evaluations and domestic violence: case comparisons.

The literature indicates that witnessing domestic violence is harmful to children, that them is a high overlap between domestic violence and child abuse, and that safety is an important issue for separating women because separation from abusive partners is a particularly dangerous time for victims of domestic violence. Further, child custody is often a contentious issue in domestic violence cases. Child custody evaluations are typically used to assist courts in deciding custody when custody is disputed and when the best interests of the child are unclear. The concept of "best interests of the child" does not specify evaluation techniques or approaches, however, and while custody evaluation standards generally address the best interests of the child, they offer little guidance in high-risk situations such as parental domestic violence. In addition, there has been limited research focused on understanding the custody evaluation process or the degree to which practitioners differ in their procedures and reporting for cases with and without parental domestic violence. This study is one of the first to examine characteristics of disputed custody cases and their custody evaluation reports differences between domestic violence and non-domestic violence cases. This study selected a 60% random sample of cases with custody evaluations in Fiscal Year 1998 and 1999 (n = 82 cases). Out of the 82 cases, 56% (n = 46) met criteria for classification into the domestic violence group and 44% (n = 36) did not. In general, results indicated that although there were some important differences in court records between cases with and without domestic violence, there were only minor differences between custody evaluation reported process and recommendations for the two groups. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Sexual and drug use behaviors among female crack users: a multi-site sample.

The purpose of this paper was to compare female crack users who report exchanging sex for drugs and/or money with female crack users who did not report exchanging sex for drugs and/or money. A multi-site sample of (n = 4667) female crack users who participated in the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) AIDS Cooperative Agreement Project from 20 sites were interviewed. Statistical analysis compared two groups on selected variables of interest: women crack users who reported exchanging sex for drugs and/or money (n = 2658) and women crack users who did not report exchanging sex (n = 2009). Results indicated that both groups of women had frequent unprotected sex. However, women who exchanged sex had more sexual partners, had sex more often, used drugs before and during sex more often, and had a higher rate of STDs than women who did not exchange sex. In addition, African-American women, homeless women, and women who reported past substance abuse treatment were about twice as likely to exchange sex. Regional differences were also examined.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Differences in young adult psychopathology among drug abstainers, experimenters, and frequent users.

Shedler and Block offered the provocative proposal that individuals who experiment with drugs are psychologically healthier than either those who abstain completely or those who are frequent users. Not all studies have come to such conclusions, however. In an effort to specify under what conditions Shedler and Block's conclusions might hold, the present study examined three groups of drug users (abstainers, experimenters, frequent users) classified according to three different criteria: (a) marijuana use at age 20; (b) alcohol use during 10th grade; and (c) alcohol use at age 20. The three groups were compared at age 20 in terms of personality, deviant behavior, and psychopathology. The results revealed that abstainers were never more psychologically impaired, and were occasionally healthier, than experimenters. Frequent users of marijuana were consistently more imparied than both the abstainers and experimenters, in terms of both internalizing and externalizing disorders. Classification according to marijuana use appeared to be more related to psychopathology than did classification according to alcohol use.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Homelessness and gender in out-of-treatment drug users.

This study examines 5225 out-of-treatment crack users and drug injectors drawn from five different geographic areas to examine selected factors associated with homelessness. Of these crack users, 27% considered themselves undomiciled, and 60% had previously entered some type of drug treatment. Logistic regression found that substance abusers who were married, female, and persons of color were less likely to be without a home when other variables were controlled. Trading sex for money and perceived chance of getting acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were associated positively with homelessness, while participating in methadone detoxification and methadone maintenance programs seemed to offer some protection from homelessness.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2000

Stalking as a variant of intimate violence: implications from a young adult sample.

There is a limited but growing literature which suggests that stalking is a variant of intimate violence. The purpose of this study was to examine physical, psychological, and stalking victimization and perpetration among males and females. Alcohol use was also examined. The sample was 46 male and 84 female undergraduate students who reported stalking victimization and perpetration after a difficult breakup, and psychological and physical victimization and perpetration during that specific relationship. Overall, 27% of the sample study was classified into the stalking victimization group, which is consistent with other stalking prevalence rates among college samples. For females, stalking victimization was significantly associated with physical and psychological abuse victimization. For males, stalking victimization was significantly associated with psychological abuse victimization. However, there was also a strong significant reciprocal relationship of stalking and psychological abuse victimization and perpetration, especially for males. Also, alcohol use was significantly associated with victimization and perpetration of stalking and psychological abuse for males. The data from this study contribute to the hypothesis that stalking is a variant of or extension of intimate violence, especially for females. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Project DARE: no effects at 10-year follow-up.

The present study examined the impact of Project DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), a widespread drug-prevention program, 10 years after administration. A total of 1,002 individuals who in 6th grade had either received DARE or a standard drug-education curriculum, were reevaluated at age 20. Few differences were found between the 2 groups in terms of actual drug use, drug attitudes, or self-esteem, and in no case did the DARE group have a more successful outcome than the comparison group. Possible reasons why DARE remains so popular, despite the lack of documented efficacy, are offered.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Risky sex behavior and substance use among young adults.

Many young adults, despite widespread prevention and education efforts that target this age group, engage in behaviors that place them at risk of HIV infection. These behaviors include frequent experimentation with alcohol and other drugs before sex, sexual activity with different partners, and inconsistent safe-sex practices. The combination of these risky behaviors causes increased concern about the spread of HIV among this age group. The study discussed in this article examined the relationship between substance use during adolescence and HIV risk behavior among young adults ages 19 to 21 with and without a college education. Results indicated that increased use of alcohol and marijuana at younger ages is related to riskier sexual activity and increased use of alcohol and marijuana as young adults. Recommendations for interventions are made.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Sexual and drug use behaviors among women crack users: implications for prevention.

The literature suggests that important and contributing factors in the rise of HIV and AIDS among women are crack use and the exchange of sex for drugs or money. However, not all women who use crack report they are exchanging sex for drugs or money. Thus, women are at differential risk for HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this study is to compare and describe women crack users (n = 292) who reported exchanging sex for drugs and money with women crack users who did not report exchanging sex. Results indicated that both women crack users who exchanged sex (n = 162) and women crack users who did not exchange sex (n = 130) were likely to be African American, to be about the same age, to have had incomes below +500 during the previous month, to have had similar education and martial backgrounds, to have had unprotected sexual intercourse as often, to have had similar drug use patterns, and to have initiated drug use at similar ages. However, women who exchanged sex had more sexual partners, had unprotected oral sex more often, used drugs before and during sex more often, and had a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases than women who did not exchange sex. In addition, women who exchanged sex were also twice as likely to be homeless, four times more likely to have been in treatment, and twice as likely to have been arrested and charged/booked two or more times in their lifetime than women who did not exchange sex.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The association of testosterone with nicotine use in young adult females.

This pilot laboratory study examined the relationship of testosterone levels, carbon monoxide (CO) levels, current and adolescent nicotine use, and histories of pubertal onset in 30 young adult female smokers. These females had completed questionnaires regarding nicotine use in the 7th through 10th grades, and again at age 21 as part of a cohort study of drug use. In addition, history of pubertal onset was obtained at age 21, as were testosterone and CO levels. Testosterone levels were positively correlated with cigarette use in the last 30 days (P< or =.01), CO levels (P< or =.05), cigarette use reported in the 7th and 10th grades (P< or =.05), and negatively correlated with age of pubertal onset (P< or =.001). The relationship of testosterone to nicotine will be discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

HIV risk behavior among bisexual and heterosexual drug users.

This study examined the sexual and drug use behaviors for bisexual and heterosexual drug users (n=11,435 males and n=5,636 females) who participated in the NIDA AIDS Cooperative Agreement study. Results of the study suggest that, for males, bisexuality was highly associated with being homeless, having ever been paid for sex, having five or more sex partners in the month preceding the interview, having an IV drug-using sexual partner in the month preceding the interview, using crack, and sharing injection equipment in the month preceding the interview. For females, bisexuality was associated with ever having been arrested, past substance abuse treatment, ever having been paid for sex, ever having paid for sex, having five or more sexual partners in the month preceding the interview, ever using cocaine, and sharing injection equipment in the month preceding the interview. Overall, results from this study indicate that both male and female bisexuals, when compared to heterosexuals, were at higher risk for HIV and were more likely to be HIV positive. One implication of these results is that a universal prevention message may not be as effective as targeting prevention messages specifically for bisexual males and females.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

HIV prevention among high-risk and hard-to-reach rural residents.

HIV infection and HIV risk behaviors are primarily considered to be urban problems. However, rural areas are also experiencing HIV. Because the criminal justice system has a disproportionate number of persons at high risk for HIV, rural probationers were targeted. This article (1) describes an intervention designed to change the high-risk drug use and sexual behaviors of rural residents on probation; and (2) presents information on 200 rural probationers who entered a project to reduce drug use and risky sex. After informed consent was obtained, participants were randomly assigned to either the NIDA standard HIV intervention or a "rural-focused" HIV intervention that incorporates the NIDA intervention as well as thought mapping and structured stories. The rural focused intervention is grounded in the Stages of Change theory and motivational interviewing. Initial findings indicate that participants reported high levels of lifetime illicit drug use and risky sexual behaviors. Participants also reported limited knowledge about protection from HIV and hepatitis. These findings suggest that the project is reaching a group of rural residents who engage in high-risk drug and sexual behaviors.

Adult↗