Gay Men's Use of Condoms With Casual Partners Depends on the Extent of Their Prior Acquaintance.
Summary of "Gay Men's Use of Condoms With Casual Partners Depends on the Extent of Their Prior Acquaintance."
Unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners (UAIC) is the strongest predictor of HIV incidence among gay men. Familiarity between sex partners has been associated with likelihood to engage in UAIC, but the decision to use condoms with partners who are previously acquainted is complex and multifaceted. Using data from the Pleasure and Sexual Health survey 2009, we investigated the association between aspects of familiarity with casual partners and disclosure of HIV serostatus. Compared with occasions when they engaged in protected anal intercourse (PAIC), when men engaged in UAIC they were more likely to report having previously met their partners (PAIC 45.9%; UAIC 54.9%), knowing them very well (PAIC 7.9%; UAIC 19.7%), and having previously had sex with them (PAIC 32.2%; UAIC 44.8%) (McNemar P < 0.001). Men were also more likely to disclose their HIV serostatus to their casual partners on occasions of UAIC, were more confident they knew their partner's HIV serostatus and trusted them more. Overall, UAIC was associated with both the broad concept of 'familiarity' (composed of elements of prior acquaintance and trust) and HIV disclosure. When men engage in UAIC without some prior familiarity, disclosure of HIV serostatus, or confidence and trust in their partners, they are probably at greater risk than on occasions when they engage in UAIC with partners with whom they do have these qualities. However, for some men, their trust in knowing specific details about their partners may not always be well-informed or reliable. These different circumstances are challenging for HIV prevention work.
Affiliation
Kirby Institute, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia, rouwenhorstevelien@hotmail.com.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: AIDS and behavior
ISSN: 1573-3254
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22127551
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10461-011-0092-y
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Paraphilias
Disorders that include recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors generally involving nonhuman objects, suffering of oneself or partners, or children or other nonconsenting partners. (from DSM-IV, 1994)
Spouses
Married persons, i.e., husbands and wives, or partners. Domestic partners, or spousal equivalents, are two adults who have chosen to share their lives in an intimate and committed relationship, reside together, and share a mutual obligation of support for the basic necessities of life.
Condoms
A sheath that is worn over the penis during sexual behavior in order to prevent pregnancy or spread of sexually transmitted disease.
Presumed Consent
An institutional policy of granting authority to health personnel to perform procedures on patients or to remove organs from cadavers for transplantation unless an objection is registered by family members or by the patient prior to death. This also includes emergency care of minors without prior parental consent.
Chloroguanide
A biguanide compound which has little antimalarial activity until metabolized in the body to the active antimalarial agent cycloguanil. The usefulness of proguanil is limited by the rapid development of drug resistance by the malarial parasite. The hydrochloride is used for the casual prophylaxis of falciparum malaria, to suppress other forms of malaria, and to reduce transmission of infection (From Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 30th ed, p405)
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