Pervasive impoverishment: Nearly a quarter of African American families live in poverty, with even higher poverty rates for single male-headed households (27 percent) and single female-headed households (40 percent).
Poverty and a disadvantaged upbringing often incite other social ills: it causes young people to drop out of school early. With this, less access to stable employment. Because of this, many lose a sense of self-worth or are easily lured into illegal or socially unacceptable activities that make them more susceptible to contracting HIV. The symptoms of poverty also influence sexual relationship patterns that encourage the spread of HIV.
There is another serious problem that is born from poverty: it can entice people, particularly women, to use sex as a form of payment or as a way to earn money. A study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found that a significant number of young black women partake in”transactional sex” relationships with older men to secure gifts, money or greater financial security. Often a woman in such a relationship will not be in a position to dictate condom use, making it more likely she could become infected with HIV herself, or that she could pass HIV on to her partner if she already has it.
