High-risk behaviours in men from Bogotá, Colombia and the spread of HIV.

Our objective was to identify sexual behaviours related to risk of HIV infection. A cluster survey of sexually experienced men from diverse sociodemographic settings in Bogotá, Colombia was carried out using a standardized self-administered questionnaire. A high response rate (96%) resulted in the enrollment of 553 men. Most participants 129/442 reported having intercourse with women and 51/111 reported having sex with other men. Most respondents (90%) engaged in high-risk sexual practices; only 2% knew their HIV-1 serostatus. Consistent condom use was reported by 20% of those who practised anal sex, and was even lower (5%) among men who had sex with women during menses. Heterosexuals exhibited a higher degree of risky sexual patterns than homosexual/bisexuals (P=0.01). In conclusion, high-risk sexual practices are prevalent among men in Bogotá, particularly heterosexuals, attesting to the urgent need for effective and specific interventions to prevent HIV transmission.

HIV testing among Haitian women: lessons in the recognition of risk.

Haitian women in Miami, Florida, responded to recruitment for testing of HIV antibody serostatus in ways that demonstrated the value of ethnographic methods for studying reactions to this kind of test, especially pre- and posttest counseling sessions. A total of 155 women between 14 and 61 years old, recruited in Miami in 1992 and 1993, participated. Response to testing identified three primary obstacles to the women's understanding of content presented in pre- and posttest counseling sessions: (1) their confusion about the meaning of positive versus negative, (2) the investigators' difficulty in communicating the concept of antibody, and (3) vagueness of the concept of window period between exposure and presentation of antibody. Retesting of a subset of Haitian participants helped to define sexual risk among these women in terms of having partners who had other partners and perception of supernatural risk.

Cognitive correlates of long-term cannabis use in Costa Rican men.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive correlates of long-term cannabis use have been elusive. We tested the hypothesis that long-term cannabis use is associated with deficits in short term memory, working memory, and attention in a literate, westernized culture (Costa Rica) in which the effects of cannabis use can be isolated. METHODS: Two cohorts of long-term cannabis users and nonusers were studied. Within each cohort, users and nonusers were comparable in age and socioeconomic status. Polydrug users and users who tested positive for the use of cannabis at the time of cognitive assessment after a 72-hour abstention period were excluded. The older cohort (whose age was approximately 45 years) had consumed cannabis for an average of 34 years, and comprised 17 users and 30 nonusers, who had been recruited in San José, Costa Rica, and had been observed since 1973. The younger cohort (whose age was approximately 28 years) had consumed cannabis for an average of 8 years, and comprised 37 users and 49 nonusers. Short-term memory, working memory, and attentional skills were measured in each subject. RESULTS: Older long-term users performed worse than older nonusers on 2 short-term memory tests involving learning lists of words. In addition, older long-term users performed worse than older nonusers on selective and divided attention tasks associated with working memory. No notable differences were apparent between younger users and nonusers. CONCLUSION: Long-term cannabis use was associated with disruption of short-term memory, working memory, and attentional skills in older long-term cannabis users.

Psychosociocultural perspectives on chronic cannabis use: the Costa Rican follow-up.

The social standing of marijuana use in Costa Rica becomes important as one examines the results of this study. Before 1968, marijuana use itself defined Costa Rican consumers of the drug as lower class. Its coming to fashionability among Costa Rican upper-middle-class youths during the late 1960's and early 1970's temporarily blurred marijuana's class identification. Nevertheless, the lower-class users' dress, speech and style of use kept them distinct from these youths. In 1986, working-class users participating in the present intensive study still occupied the lowest positions in the Costa Rican social strata. Their marijuana use does not appear to be a major factor in blocking upward mobility. The social stations in which users were raised were more powerful in determining their present fates than taking up or not taking up marijuana use. Users speak the language differently, employing a mix of lexical changes and wordplay to keep the decent Costa Ricans out of their clandestine business. Smokers of marijuana also dress differently from other Costa Ricans and tend to live in disreputable barrios, according to the stereotype. The Costa Rican image of a marijuana smoker is one of a streetwise, corrupt and uncomfortably distinctive character who is not to be trusted. The main problem in assessing the relationship between marijuana use and the human condition of marijuana users is the pervasive influence of the general social disapproval of marijuana smoking in Costa Rican society.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)