Educated and At-Risk: How the Shortage of Available Partners Influences Disparities in HIV Risk for College-Educated African- American Women

A growing number of scholars speculate that limited heterosexual partner availability is a critical area of concern regarding HIV risk for African-American women, but this principle remains largely unexplored. This study’s aim is to explore the psychological and social factors, particularly the shortage of available partners, which may influence HIV risk behavior among college-educated African-American women, ages 25-34. This group is of particular interest as they are not often represented in studies on HIV prevention, while their dating and sexual negotiation patterns may differ from those of their lower-educated and lower-income counterparts. Focus group transcripts and questionnaire data were analyzed revealing four emergent themes that may influence HIV risk behavior for this group of women. We discuss implications for the future of designing culturally appropriate interventions to eliminate HIV/AIDS health disparities in the African-American community