Women who use opiates and are involved in the criminal justice system in Appalachia may be prone to adverse health outcomes. In this study, we performed a latent class analysis of risk and protective factors on 400 drug-using women recruited from rural, Appalachian jails. A two-profile solution best fit the data. Both profiles evinced low levels of condom use, reproductive and physical health screens, and STD history. However, the primary substantive difference between the profiles was partner risk behavior: the higher risk class had main male partners with histories of injection drug use and incarceration. Results suggest that interventions need to be tailored to unique profiles of risk and protective factors, which should include taking partner risk into consideration.
Keywords: Appalachia; Women; criminal justice system; latent class analysis; partner risk; risk profiles; substance use.