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Sexual Risk Taking in Relation to Sexual Identification, Age, and Education in a Diverse Sample of African American Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in New York City

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Abstract

HIV disproportionately affects African American men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. To inform this epidemiological pattern, we examined cross-sectional sexual behavior data in 509 African American MSM. Bivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which age, education, and sexual identity explain the likelihood of engaging in sex with a partner of a specific gender and the likelihood of engaging in unprotected sexual behaviors based on partner gender. Across all partner gender types, unprotected sexual behaviors were more likely to be reported by men with lower education. Younger, non-gay identified men were more likely to engage in unprotected sexual behaviors with transgender partners, while older, non-gay identified men were more likely to engage in unprotected sexual behaviors with women. African American MSM do not represent a monolithic group in their sexual behaviors, highlighting the need to target HIV prevention efforts to different subsets of African American MSM communities as appropriate.

Resumen

En los Estados Unidos el VIH afecta desproporcionadamente a los hombres Afroamericanos que tienen sexo con otros hombres. Para explorar este patrón epidemiológico, examinamos transversalmente la conducta sexual de 509 hombres Afroamericanos que tienen sexo con otros hombres. Se realizó un análisis de regresión logística binaria para examinar en qué medida la edad, la educación, y la identidad sexual explicarían la probabilidad de tener relaciones sexuales con una pareja de un género específico y la probabilidad de tener relaciones sexuales sin protección basada en el género de la pareja. Independientemente del genero de la pareja (hombres, mujeres, y transgénero), el tener relaciones sexuales sin protección fue reportado más frecuentemente por hombres con menor educación formal. Los hombres más jóvenes y que no se identifican como gay tuvieron una mayor probabilidad de reportar relaciones sexuales sin protección con parejas transgénero. Mientras que los hombres más viejos y que no se identifican como gay tuvieron una mayor probabilidad de reportar relaciones sexuales sin protección con mujeres. Los hombres Afroamericanos que tienen sexo con otros hombres no representan un grupo monolítico en sus relaciones sexuales, destacando la necesidad de dirigir los esfuerzos de prevención del VIH en modo específico a diferentes subgrupos de estas comunidades.

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Acknowledgment

This study was funded by a Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Contract # 1UR6 PS000369.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, & Prevention Studies, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, & Human Development, New York University, 82 Washington Square East, Pless 555, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Melvin C. Hampton, Perry N. Halkitis, Erik D. Storholm, Sandra A. Kupprat, Daniel E. Siconolfi, Donovan Jones & Jeff T. Steen

  2. Harlem United, New York, NY, USA

    Sara Gillen

  3. Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Donna Hubbard McCree

Authors
  1. Melvin C. Hampton
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  2. Perry N. Halkitis
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  4. Sandra A. Kupprat
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  5. Daniel E. Siconolfi
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  6. Donovan Jones
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  7. Jeff T. Steen
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  8. Sara Gillen
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  9. Donna Hubbard McCree
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Correspondence to Perry N. Halkitis.

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Hampton, M.C., Halkitis, P.N., Storholm, E.D. et al. Sexual Risk Taking in Relation to Sexual Identification, Age, and Education in a Diverse Sample of African American Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in New York City. AIDS Behav 17, 931–938 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-012-0139-8

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