Health Education Research, Vol. 9, No. 1, 47-55, 1994
© 1994 Oxford University Press
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Inmates self-perceived risk of HIV infection inside and outside Scottish prisons
Tayside Health Board, Area Clinical Psychology Department, Royal Dundee Liff Hospital Dundee DD2 5NF
1Department of Psychology, University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA
2University Department of Psychological Medicine, Gartnavel Royal Hospital Glasgow G12 0XH, UK
Five hundred and fifty nine inmates in Scottish prisons were asked to assess their risk of HIV infection prior to imprisonment and during imprisonment. HIV self-perceived risk was significantly higher prior to imprisonment than during imprisonment. Those prisoners who thought their risk of HIV infection was high prior to imprisonment were more likely to have previously been charged and sentenced with a drug offence, to have used injected drugs and shared needles in and out of prison, to have had an HIV test, known someone who had been HIV tested, known someone who was HIV seropositive, to have had an injecting drug user sexual partner, and to have had more than one sexual partner in the 1 month prior to imprisonment. During imprisonment few inmates regarded their risk of HIV infection as high and this was paralleled by a reduction in high-risk injecting drug use and almost non-existent high-risk sexual behaviour during custody. The results suggested that most inmates were able to apply their understanding of the risk factors for HIV infection to themselves and to state whether or not they had been at risk both prior to and during imprisonment. However, a small number appeared to deny the risk associated with high-risk injecting drug use in and out of prison, and the majority did not adopt sexual risk reduction strategies when they were at liberty.