Social network characteristics and HIV risk among African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Latino men who have sex with men.
OBJECTIVE
To examine how social networks influence HIV risk among US racial/ethnic minority men who have sex with men (MSM) and whether the associations of social network characteristics with risk vary by race/ethnicity.


METHODS
A chain-referral sample of 403 African American, 393 Asian/Pacific Islander, and 400 Latino MSM recruited in Los Angeles County, California, completed a questionnaire, which asked about their egocentric social networks, safer sex peer norms, and male anal intercourse partners. HIV-nonconcordant partnerships were those reported by respondents as serodisconcordant or where self and/or partner serostatus was unknown.


RESULTS
Overall, 26% of the sample reported HIV-nonconcordant unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with a nonprimary male partner in the previous 6 months. In a generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic model that controlled for race/ethnicity, age, nativity, incarceration history, and HIV status, being in a more dense network was associated with less HIV-nonconcordant UAI [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86 to 0.99, P = 0.0467]. In addition, the effect of safer sex peer norms on HIV-nonconcordant UAI was moderated by ego-alter closeness (P = 0.0021). Safer sex peer norms were protective among those reporting "medium" or "high" ego-alter closeness (AOR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.52 to 0.95, P = 0.0213 and AOR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.35 to 0.66, P < 0.0001, respectively), but not among those reporting "low" ego-alter closeness (AOR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.63 to 1.46, P = 0.8333). The effects of density, closeness, and norms on HIV-nonconcordant UAI did not differ by race/ethnicity.


CONCLUSIONS
The significant association of social network characteristics with UAI point to network-level factors as important loci for both ongoing research and HIV prevention interventions among US MSM of color.
*Department of Medicine, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; and †The Global Forum on MSM and HIV, Oakland, CA.
Kyung-Hee
KH
Choi
George
G
Ayala
Jay
J
Paul
Ross
R
Boylan
Steven E
SE
Gregorich
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult