Preventing unprotected anal intercourse in gay men: a comparison of two intervention techniques.
This study compared the effectiveness of getting gay men to evaluate the self-justifications they use when breaking their safe sex rules to that of a standard approach to AIDS education. Men (n = 109) who had 'slipped up' (broken their safe sex rules by having unprotected anal intercourse) kept diaries of their sexual behaviour for 16 weeks. After 4 weeks they were allocated to one of 3 conditions, 2 involving brief interventions--Self-justifications (evaluation of self-justifications) and Standard (examination of posters used in AIDS education)--and a Control (diary only). At the time of the intervention, more members of the Self-justifications than the Standard group thought that it would help them not to slip up. In the post-intervention period, the 3 groups did not differ in the incidence of sexual activity or in the proportion who slipped up at least once, but the Self-justifications group were less likely to have had multiple slip-ups. Three possible explanations are offered for the effectiveness of the Self-justifications intervention. This approach may provide a useful alternative to standard techniques of AIDS education.
Gold
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Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
Rosenthal
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DA
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012655:Self-Evaluation Programs; D012736:Sex Education / Q000379:methods*