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Risky Sex- and Drug-Seeking in a Probability Sample of Men-for-Men Online Bulletin Board Postings

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Abstract

There has been limited research on men who have sex with men’s postings in online sex-seeking bulletin boards. This study uses a probability sample of 1,438 advertisements ostensibly posted by men-seeking-men in the New York City section of Craigslist.org. Ad’s qualitative text were coded for various sex- and drug-seeking behaviors. The proportion of ads seeking unprotected/uninhibited sex (3.0%) and party-n-play (i.e., sex/drug) encounters (4.2%) was low. In contrast, 12.7% of postings specified safe sex encounters, and 17.5% of postings specified that they were “drug and disease free.” Prevalence of certain behaviors varied by time that ads were posted. Implications for health/community service providers are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This project would not have been possible without the help of the coding team: Ayomide Bomide, Stacy Li, Tamika Theodore, Stephanie Thomas, and Myriam Webb. The author also wishes to recognize Brooke E. Wells, Michael D. Smith, Juline Koken, and the research team at the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training. Finally, thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY), 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11210, USA

    Christian Grov

  2. The Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), New York, NY, USA

    Christian Grov

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  1. Christian Grov
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Correspondence to Christian Grov.

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Grov, C. Risky Sex- and Drug-Seeking in a Probability Sample of Men-for-Men Online Bulletin Board Postings. AIDS Behav 14, 1387–1392 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9661-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-009-9661-8

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