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Inter-partner and Temporal Variations in the Perception of Sexual Risk for HIV

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Abstract

This study uses longitudinal qualitative methods to examine how gay and bisexual men perceive sexual risk across both a variety of partners and across time. Over ten weeks, participants completed three quantitative personal relationship diaries (PRD) describing sexual encounters during that time period. Participants then completed a timeline-based individual in-depth interview to unpack the PRD data. Participants used multiple factors to determine their own sexual risk (e.g., type of sex, partner concurrency, emotional connections), which often resulted in inconsistencies in defining sexual risk and determining the level of risk both within and across partners and across time. These findings can inform HIV prevention messages and programming.

Resumen

Este estudio usa métodos longitudinales y cualitativos para examinar como hombres homosexuales y bisexuales perciben los riesgos sexuales a través tanto de la variedad de parejas como através del tiempo. Por diez semanas, los participantes completaron tres diarios cuantitativos sobre sus relaciones personales describiendo sus encuentros sexuales durante este periodo de tiempo. Después, para explicar los datos del diario, los participantes completaron una entrevista individual profunda basada en una linea de tiempo. Los participantes usaron factores multiples para determinar su proprio riesgo sexual (por ejemplo, el tipo de sexo, la concurrencia de la pareja y conexiones emocionales), que frecuentemente resultaban en inconsistencias para definir el riesgo sexual y determinar el nivel de riesgo tanto dentro y entre parejas y atraves del tiempo. Estos resultados pueden ayudar a crear mensajes y programas para la prevención de VIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 400 North Ingalls Building, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Tamar Goldenberg

  2. Center for Sexuality & Health Disparities, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Tamar Goldenberg, Lynae A. Darbes & Rob Stephenson

  3. Department of Health Behavior and Biological Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Lynae A. Darbes & Rob Stephenson

Authors
  1. Tamar Goldenberg
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  2. Lynae A. Darbes
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  3. Rob Stephenson
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Correspondence to Tamar Goldenberg.

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Goldenberg, T., Darbes, L.A. & Stephenson, R. Inter-partner and Temporal Variations in the Perception of Sexual Risk for HIV. AIDS Behav 22, 1870–1884 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1876-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1876-5

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