Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Love with HIV
T2 - A Latent Class Analysis of Sexual and Intimate Relationship Experiences Among Women Living with HIV in Canada
AU - the CHIWOS Research Team
AU - Carter, Allison
AU - Greene, Saara
AU - Money, Deborah
AU - Sanchez, Margarite
AU - Webster, Kath
AU - Nicholson, Valerie
AU - Brotto, Lori
AU - Hankins, Catherine
AU - Kestler, Mary
AU - Pick, Neora
AU - Salters, Kate
AU - Proulx-Boucher, Karène
AU - O’Brien, Nadia
AU - Patterson, Sophie
AU - de Pokomandy, Alexandra
AU - Loutfy, Mona
AU - Kaida, Angela
AU - Abdul-Noor, Rahma
AU - Anema, Aranka
AU - Angel, Jonathan
AU - Bakombo, Dada Mamvula
AU - Barry, Fatimatou
AU - Bauer, Greta
AU - Beaver, Kerrigan
AU - Boucher, Marc
AU - Boucoiran, Isabelle
AU - Brophy, Jason
AU - Brotto, Lori
AU - Burchell, Ann
AU - Cardinal, Claudette
AU - Cioppa, Lynne
AU - Conway, Tracey
AU - Côté, José
AU - Cotnam, Jasmine
AU - d’Ambrumenil, Cori
AU - Dayle, Janice
AU - Ding, Erin
AU - Dubuc, Danièle
AU - Duddy, Janice
AU - Fernet, Mylène
AU - Fraleigh, Annette
AU - Frank, Peggy
AU - Gagnier, Brenda
AU - Gagnon, Marilou
AU - Gahagan, Jacqueline
AU - Gasingirwa, Claudine
AU - Gataric, Nada
AU - Gormley, Rebecca
AU - Groleau, Danielle
AU - Guerlotté, Charlotte
PY - 2019/5/31
Y1 - 2019/5/31
N2 - Love remains hidden in HIV research in favor of a focus on risk. Among 1424 women living with HIV in Canada, we explored (1) whether eight facets of sex and intimacy (marital status, sexual activity, physical intimacy, emotional closeness, power equity, sexual exclusivity, relationship duration, and couple HIV serostatus) may coalesce into distinct relationship types, and (2) how these relationship types may be linked to love as well as various social, psychological, and structural factors. Five latent classes were identified: no relationship (46.5%), relationships without sex (8.6%), and three types of sexual relationships—short term (15.4%), long term/unhappy (6.4%), and long term/happy (23.2%, characterized by equitable power, high levels of physical and emotional closeness, and mainly HIV-negative partners). While women in long-term/happy relationships were most likely to report feeling love for and wanted by someone “all of the time,” love was not exclusive to sexual or romantic partners and a sizeable proportion of women reported affection across latent classes. Factors independently associated with latent class membership included age, children living at home, sexism/genderism, income, sex work, violence, trauma, depression, HIV treatment, awareness of treatment’s prevention benefits, and HIV-related stigma. Findings reveal the diversity of women’s experiences with respect to love, sex, and relationships and draw attention to the sociostructural factors shaping intimate partnering in the context of HIV. A nuanced focus on promoting healthy relationships and supportive social environments may offer a more comprehensive approach to supporting women’s overall sexual health and well-being than programs focused solely on sexual risk reduction.
AB - Love remains hidden in HIV research in favor of a focus on risk. Among 1424 women living with HIV in Canada, we explored (1) whether eight facets of sex and intimacy (marital status, sexual activity, physical intimacy, emotional closeness, power equity, sexual exclusivity, relationship duration, and couple HIV serostatus) may coalesce into distinct relationship types, and (2) how these relationship types may be linked to love as well as various social, psychological, and structural factors. Five latent classes were identified: no relationship (46.5%), relationships without sex (8.6%), and three types of sexual relationships—short term (15.4%), long term/unhappy (6.4%), and long term/happy (23.2%, characterized by equitable power, high levels of physical and emotional closeness, and mainly HIV-negative partners). While women in long-term/happy relationships were most likely to report feeling love for and wanted by someone “all of the time,” love was not exclusive to sexual or romantic partners and a sizeable proportion of women reported affection across latent classes. Factors independently associated with latent class membership included age, children living at home, sexism/genderism, income, sex work, violence, trauma, depression, HIV treatment, awareness of treatment’s prevention benefits, and HIV-related stigma. Findings reveal the diversity of women’s experiences with respect to love, sex, and relationships and draw attention to the sociostructural factors shaping intimate partnering in the context of HIV. A nuanced focus on promoting healthy relationships and supportive social environments may offer a more comprehensive approach to supporting women’s overall sexual health and well-being than programs focused solely on sexual risk reduction.
KW - Feminism
KW - HIV
KW - Love
KW - Power
KW - Relationships
KW - Sex
KW - Women
U2 - 10.1007/s10508-019-1418-5
DO - 10.1007/s10508-019-1418-5
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 30891711
AN - SCOPUS:85063293545
VL - 48
SP - 1015
EP - 1040
JO - Archives of Sexual Behavior
JF - Archives of Sexual Behavior
SN - 0004-0002
IS - 4
ER -