Attitudes, norms, self-efficacy, and stage of change among out-of-treatment female crack cocaine users: a pilot study.

ABSTRACT

The level of sexual risk among crack cocaine uses had remained high, regardless of their level of AIDS knowledge. Consequently, researchers have advocated the use of rigorous behavioral theory in aiding epidemiological research and intervention. To test whether stage of change for "insisting that men (besides your main partner) use condoms every time you have sex with them" was associated with behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and self-efficacy among female crack cocaine users, a behavioral context questionnaire was administered to 61 female crack cocaine users who were recruited in the field and interviewed in an urban HIV testing center. Results indicated that all three were associated with stage of change and that self-efficacy was the variable most strongly related to stage of change.