Physical abuse is associated with HIV-related drug risk

Those who have experienced abuse may be prone to engaging in risky sexual behavior and risky drug use. The relationship between sexual abuse and risky behavior has been well established in the literature, but the association between physical abuse and risky drug use has been equivocal. We hypothesize that the experience of PTSD symptoms following physical abuse leads to risky drug use. Therefore, we examined the associations among physical abuse history, PTSD symptoms, and HIV-related drug risk in a sample of 121 opioid-dependent persons to determine whether PTSD symptoms mediated the relationship between physical abuse history and drug risk. Participants were recruited during an acute care hospital inpatient stay. Physical abuse history was associated with increased drug risk, and PTSD symptoms were associated with increased drug risk. However, PTSD symptoms were not found to be a mediator of the association between physical abuse history and HIV-related drug risk. These findings highlight the importance of assessing abuse history in high-risk samples of opioid users.