title: Correlates and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Bareback Sex Among Men Who Have Sex with Men with Unknown or Negative HIV Serostatus.
abstract: Men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly racial/ethnic minority MSM, are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States and Texas. Bareback sex or condomless anal intercourse (CAI) can be a high HIV risk behavior. Despite this, a majority of MSM continues to engage in barebacking. Research suggests racial/ethnic differences in barebacking exist; however, these conclusions remain unclear due to insufficient sample sizes to compare racial/ethnic groups. Our cross-sectional correlational design explores barebacking correlates (substance use during sex, safe sex fatigue, and optimistic HIV treatment beliefs) within and between racial/ethnic groups among 366 MSM. Regression models are significant for Latino and African-American MSM alone and for all MSM combined, though not significant for European-American and Other Race/Ethnicity MSM alone. Our findings suggest motivations and behaviors underlying barebacking among MSM vary by racial/ethnic membership with clinical implications for informing culturally sensitive HIV interventions and prevention programs for target racial/ethnic groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311280, Denton, TX, 76203, USA. Mark.Vosvick@unt.edu.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vosvick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311280, Denton, TX, 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fritz
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Technology & Decision Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prybutok
authors.affiliation: TB/HIV/STD Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sheu
authors.affiliation: TB/HIV/STD Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000208:ethnology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D013781:Texas; D014481:United States; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Barebacking; HIV; HIV risk; MSM; Racial/ethnic differences