With the advent of highly effective antiretroviral therapies, the prospects for persons living with HIV infection (HIV+) undoubtedly include many years of continued sexual activity. Reports of unsafe sexual behavior among a subset of HIV+ men has alarmed some prevention researchers and stimulated rethinking of HIV prevention interventions for gay/bisexual men. This paper examines the rates of unsafe sex among HIV+ gay/bisexual men and their correlates, comparing them to HIV− men recruited simultaneously to the Chicago MACS/C&CS and AIM studies. Aside from initial differences in the rates of unprotected anal sex (UAS) among men prior to learning their HIV serostatus, there were no differences in actual rates of UAS or their correlates in the two samples. Further, the importance of attitudinal measures—i.e., sexual sensation seeking, preference for UAS, and belief in the efficacy of the new therapies—in predicting risky sex among gay/bisexual men regardless of serostatus argues for an emphasis on modifying these attitudes in any HIV prevention interventions for gay and bisexual men and the importance of combining primary and secondary HIV prevention strategies whenever possible.
- Risk behavior
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/charles_klein/10/