title: High-risk sexual activity in the House and Ball community: influence of social networks.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the roles of House membership and the influence of social and sexual network members on the sexual risk behavior of men in the Los Angeles House and Ball community.
  
  
  METHODS
  From February 2009 to January 2010, male participants (n = 233) completed interviewer-assisted surveys during a House meeting or Ball event. We used logistic regression to model the effects of sexual network size, influence of sexual network members, House membership status, and their interactions on high-risk sex.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant predictors of high-risk sex included number of sexual partners in the nominated social network, multiethnicity, and previous diagnosis of sexually transmitted infection. House membership was protective against high-risk sex. Additionally, a 3-way interaction emerged between number of sexual partners in the network, influence, and network members' House membership.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future research should assess network members' attitudes and behavior in detail to provide a greater understanding of the dynamics of social influence and to identify additional avenues for intervention.
authors: Sheree M. Schrager is with the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, CA. Carl A. Latkin is with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. George Weiss is with the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Katrina Kubicek and Michele D. Kipke are with the Community, Health Outcomes, and Intervention Research Program, the Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Michele D. Kipke is also with the Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
authors: Sheree M
authors: SM
authors: Schrager
authors: Carl A
authors: CA
authors: Latkin
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Weiss
authors: Katrina
authors: K
authors: Kubicek
authors: Michele D
authors: MD
authors: Kipke
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000208:ethnology; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult