Abstract
Few studies have examined actor–partner effects about male couples’ substance use with sex. Dyadic data from 361 male couples were used to examine these effects regarding engagement in condomless anal sex (CAS) by type of partner and substance. Couples with one or both partners reported using marijuana, amyl nitrates, party drugs, and/or stimulants with sex in their relationship was positively associated with them having had CAS. Actor–partner effects for stimulant use with sex with the main partner were associated with CAS with a casual MSM partner. Only an actor effect for stimulant use with sex with a casual MSM partner was associated with CAS with that partner type, and an actor effect for marijuana use with sex for both partner types was associated with CAS with both partner types. These findings illuminate the need for further inquiry about male couples’ substance use with sex for HIV prevention.
Resumen
Pocos estudios han examinado los efectos actor-pareja sobre el uso de substancias con el sexo entre parejas de hombres. Datos diádica de 361 parejas de hombres fueros usados para examinar estos efectos respecto a participación en el sexo anal sin condón por tipo de pareja y por substancia. Parejas donde uno o ambos reportaros uso de marijuana, nitratos de amilo, drogas de fiestas, y/o estimulantes con el sexo en su relación fueron positivamente asociados con haber tenido sexo anal sin condón. Efectos actor-pareja para el uso de estimulantes con la pareja principal fueron asociados con sexo anal sin condón con una pareja casual masculina que tiene sexo con otros hombres (MSM). Solo se asoció un efecto actor con el uso de estimulantes con una pareja casual MSM al sexo anal sin condón, y un efecto actor para el uso de marijuana para ambos tipos de parejas fue asociado con sexo anal sin condón con ambos tipos de pareja. Esta información resalta la necesidad de seguir investigando el uso de substancias con el sexo entre parejas de hombres para la prevención del VIH.
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Acknowledgments
Special thanks are extended to the participants for their time and effort.
Funding
Data collected for the research described in this secondary analysis was supported by the center (P30-MH52776) and NRSA (T32-MH19985) Grants from the National Institute of Mental Health.
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Jason W. Mitchell declares that he has no conflict of interest. Yue Pan declares that he has no conflict of interest. Daniel Feaster declares that he has no conflict of interest.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Mitchell, J.W., Pan, Y. & Feaster, D. Actor–Partner Effects of Male Couples Substance Use with Sex and Engagement in Condomless Anal Sex. AIDS Behav 20, 2904–2913 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1355-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-016-1355-4