Journal of Reproduction & Infertility

Journal of Reproduction & Infertility

Veiled Truths: Iranian Women and Risky Sexual Behavior in the Context of Substance Use

Authors
Effat Merghati Khoei 1
Mansoureh Jamshidimanesh 2
Mohammad Hassan Emamian 3
Fatemeh Sheikhan 4
Kate Dolan 5
Kathleen Brady 6
1 Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Institution of Risk Behavior Reduction, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Center for Health Related Social and Behavioral Sciences Research, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran
4 Department of Midwifery, Khalkhal Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khalkhal, Iran
5 National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia
6 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), South Carolina, USA
Abstract
Background: Substance use disorders and risky sexual behavior coexist for some women. Explanatory models of women's sexuality in the context of substance use are under study. This study aimed to explore how women’s sexual behavior can become risky in the context of substance use. Methods: In this ethnographic inquiry, 25 women with substance use disorders (SUDs) were included at two Drop-In-Centers (DICs) in South Tehran. Observation, semi-structured interviews and field notes were used to collect data. Qualitative content analysis was used to attain the explanatory model of women’s sexual behaviors in the context of substance use. Results: Three major themes emerged from the data analysis regarding their lives in the context of substance use; 1) life in the context of drug abuse, 2) negative self-perception, and 3) strive to survive. Subthemes were identified as loss of contact with family, social stigma, self-forgetfulness, worthlessness, low self-efficacy, and unsafe sexual context. Conclusion: Findings suggest that women with SUDs are highly interwoven with women’s sexual health, facilitating a shift towards risky behaviors. Integration of safe sexual skills building programs with substance use treatment is needed.
Keywords
Drug Abuse
Ethnography
Iranian women
Qualitative Inquiry
Sexual risk behaviors
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Journal of Reproduction & Infertility
Volume 19, Issue 4
Autumn 2018
Pages 237-246