Drug Use, Sexual Risk, and Syndemic Production Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Who Engage in Group Sexual Encounters.

• Autores: Sabina Hirshfield, Eric W. Schrimshaw, Ronald D. Stall, Andrew D. Margolis, Martin J. Downing Jr, Mary Ann Chiasson
• Localización: American journal of public health, ISSN 0090-0036, Vol. 105, Nº. 9, 2015, págs. 1849-1858
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Objectives. We surveyed men who have sex with men (MSM) to determine whether sexual risk behaviors, recent drug use, and other psychosocial problems differed between men who engaged in one-on-one and group sexual encounters. Methods. We conducted an Internet-based cross-sectional survey of 7158 MSM aged 18 years or older in the United States recruited from a gay-oriented sexual networking Web site in 2008. Among MSM who engaged in group sexual encounters, we compared their past-60-day sexual behaviors in one-on-one encounters and group sexual encounters. We also compared risk profiles and syndemic production between men who did and did not participate in group sex. Results. Men reporting a group-sex encounter had significantly higher poly-drug use and sexual risk than did the men not reporting group sex in the past 60 days. The odds of engaging in group sex with 4 or more sexual partners significantly increased with the number of psychosocial problems, supporting evidence of syndemic production. Conclusions. We identified a particularly high-risk subgroup in the MSM population with considerable psychosocial problems that may be reached online. Research is needed on how to engage these high-risk men in combination prevention interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]