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Relationship of Resources to Emotional Distress, Somatic Complaints, and High-Risk Behaviors in Drug Recovery and Homeless Minority Women
- Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 3, Number 1, Summer 1992
- pp. 93-106
- 10.1353/hpu.2010.0489
- Article
- Additional Information
In a sample of 581 homeless or drug-abusing minority women, the relationship of self-esteem, sense of coherence, and support availability to emotional distress, somatic complaints, and high-risk behavior were investigated. Findings revealed that women who were high in self-esteem and stronger in sense of coherence reported significantly less emotional distress, and significantly fewer high-risk behaviors. In addition, women who were high in any of the three resources reported lower somatic complaints. Regression analysis revealed that coherence, self-esteem and support availability jointly accounted for 49% of the variance in emotional distress, 10% of the variance in high-risk activities, and 26% of the variance in somatic complaints. Implications for empowering women at risk for HIV infection are discussed.