title: Psychosocial correlates of HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Italy: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: The objective of this study was to understand the psychosocial correlates of men having sex with men (MSM) who have never been tested (never testers), MSM who have been tested in the last 12 months (recent testers), and MSM who have been tested before (remote testers). A sample of 14,409 Italian HIV-negative adult MSM was recruited via instant messages to the members of five international commercial websites and through clickable banner advertisements on different websites. The most important correlates of never testers compared to recent testers were younger age, sexual orientation concealment, unawareness of free HIV services, having had a partner of unknown serostatus, and lower levels of HIV testing self-efficacy (i.e. the belief in one's own ability to get a test for HIV). The most important correlates of remote testers compared to recent testers were older age, homosexual orientation, having had a partner of unknown serostatus, unawareness of free HIV services, and lower level of HIV testing self-efficacy. There are different psychosocial correlates of MSM based on HIV testing history. Based on the findings of this study, prevention efforts should be directed toward increasing awareness about the availability of HIV testing services and HIV testing self-efficacy among MSM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy gabriele.prati@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prati
authors.affiliation: Regione Veneto, Venezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breveglieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lelleri
authors.affiliation: Regione Veneto, Venezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furegato
authors.affiliation: Regione Veneto, Venezia, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gios
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pietrantoni
mesh_terms: D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AIDS; HIV; HIV testing; Internet; MSM; diagnosis; men who have sex with men; self efficacy; sexually transmitted infections