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Sex Partner Behavior Variation Related to Network Position of and Residential Proximity to Sex Partners Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men

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Abstract

This analysis examines how sex behaviors are influenced by a sex partner’s network bridging position and the residential proximity between the two. The study sample consisted of 437 young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) in Chicago and their sex partners (2013–2014). Dyadic analyses that clustered on individuals using generalized estimating equations (n = 1095 relationships) were conducted to assess the associations between different HIV-related sexual behaviors and the network position of and residential proximity to a partner. The odds of group sex was higher with partners who had high network bridging, regardless of how close they lived to one another. The odds of transactional sex was higher with partners who had high network bridging and lived in a different region of the city. Sex behaviors associated with an increased risk of HIV transmission were associated with the network structural position of and residential proximity to partners among YBMSM.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the uConnect study participants for the time they contributed to this study. We would also like to thank the staff for the collection of the data. This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health [Grant Numbers: R01 DA033875, R01 MH112406, R01 DA039934]. The funding sources did not have involvement in the development of this work.

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Correspondence to Yen-Tyng Chen.

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Chen, YT., Issema, R.S., Hotton, A. et al. Sex Partner Behavior Variation Related to Network Position of and Residential Proximity to Sex Partners Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men. AIDS Behav 24, 2327–2335 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-02792-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-02792-7

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