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Reasons for Not Taking an HIV-Test Among Untested Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Internet Study

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The present paper focuses on reasons for not taking an HIV-test among untested men who have sex with men (MSM). From an MSM web-based survey, 1627 MSM who had never tested for HIV were selected for the reported analyses. Results show that fear of a positive test result and the perceived consequences thereof, are reported as the most important reasons for not taking an HIV-test among at-risk respondents. The most important reasons for not taking an HIV-test among no-risk respondents are related to perception of low risk for HIV-infection. Implications for future interventions to promote HIV-testing are discussed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development. The authors would like to express their thanks to Dr. Gerard van Breukelen for his statistical assistance. This work was initiated during the first author's visit to the National Centre in HIV Social Research (NCHSR) in Sydney, Australia. He thanks NCHSR for its hospitality during that visit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Jochen Mikolajczak, Harm J. Hospers & Gerjo Kok

  2. Department of Experimental Psychology,, Faculty of Psychology, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Jochen Mikolajczak

Authors
  1. Jochen Mikolajczak
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  2. Harm J. Hospers
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  3. Gerjo Kok
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Correspondence to Jochen Mikolajczak.

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Mikolajczak, J., Hospers, H.J. & Kok, G. Reasons for Not Taking an HIV-Test Among Untested Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Internet Study. AIDS Behav 10, 431–435 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-006-9068-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-006-9068-8

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