title: The Role of Geographic and Network Factors in Racial Disparities in HIV Among Young Men Who have Sex with Men: An Egocentric Network Study.
abstract: The objective of this study was to characterize and compare individual and sexual network characteristics of Black, White, and Latino young men who have sex with men (YMSM) as potential drivers of racial disparities in HIV. Egocentric network interviews were conducted with 175 diverse YMSM who described 837 sex partners within 167 sexual-active egos. Sexual partner alter attributes were summarized by ego. Descriptives of ego demographics, sexual partner demographics, and network characteristics were calculated by race of the ego and compared. No racial differences were found in individual engagement in HIV risk behaviors or concurrent sexual partnership. Racial differences were found in partner characteristics, including female gender, non-gay sexual orientations, older age, and residence in a high HIV prevalence neighborhood. Racial differences in relationship characteristics included type of relationships (i.e., main partner) and strength of relationships. Network characteristics also showed differences, including sexual network density and assortativity by race. Most racial differences were in the direction of effects that would tend to increase HIV incidence among Black YMSM. These data suggest that racial disparities in HIV may be driven and/or maintained by a combination of racial differences in partner characteristics, assortativity by race, and increased sexual network density, rather than differences in individual's HIV risk behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 625 N Michigan Ave, Suite 2700, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA, brian@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mustanski
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Birkett
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Kuhns
authors.forename: Carl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Latkin
authors.forename: Stephen Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Muth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D004532:Ego; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D054525:Minority Health / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D060756:Social Networking; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000523:psychology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult