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Query: UMLS:C0001175 (AIDS)
 120,706 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This paper describes how the threat of HIV infection is appraised and coped with by homosexual and bisexual men. Very little is known about men who do not want to be HIV tested, thus non-HIV-tested homosexual and bisexual men have been interviewed in depth about themes concerning their lives during the AIDS epidemic. Men with sexual risk behaviour appeared to be very reluctant to participate, and therefore six men with safe sexual behaviour and four men with unsafe sexual behaviour were interviewed. The results showed that all the men were well informed about AIDS and preventive measures. Reasons for not wanting a test were fear of psychological distress caused by a possible positive test and the fact that no treatment is available. The men who had adopted safe sex appraised their sex lives to have suffered a minor loss but found that sexuality played a subordinate role compared to trust and friendship. The men with risk behaviour considered sexuality to play an important role in their lives. They found condoms a barrier to intimacy and used defensive strategies to manage stress. Most of them were able to exchange social support with their network but had difficulties in setting their own limits. All four men had experienced undertreated traumatic events in their past. The results indicate that knowledge of AIDS and satisfactory social support do not necessarily result in safe sexual behaviour. The role of undertreated traumatic events forming barriers against adopting safe sexual practices should be further studied. Proposals are put forward for future health education programmes.
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PMID:Homosexual and bisexual men's coping with the AIDS epidemic: qualitative interviews with 10 non-HIV-tested homosexual and bisexual men. 231 40

Men entering gay bars in three small southern cities were administered questionnaires to assess AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) risk knowledge, perceived norms concerning the social acceptability of AIDS risk precautions, and personal sexual behavior. Seventy-seven percent (N = 355) of male patrons completed the measures. While risk knowledge levels were high, respondents did not perceive strong norms favoring risk reduction precautions. Rates of risk behavior were considerably higher than those reported for gay men in large urban epicenters.
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PMID:AIDS risk behavior patterns among gay men in small southern cities. 231 60

Men (N = 526) who patronized gay bars in three cities completed measures of sexual behavior covering the previous 3 months and psychological measures theoretically pertinent to AIDS risk. Thirty-seven percent of the sample reported engaging in unprotected anal intercourse, the behavior most strongly associated with transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Perceived peer norms concerning the acceptability of safer sex practices, AIDS health locus of control scores, risk behavior knowledge, age, and accuracy of personal risk estimation, but not personal HIV serostatus knowledge, were associated with high-risk and precaution-taking behavior.
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PMID:Psychological factors that predict AIDS high-risk versus AIDS precautionary behavior. 231 44

The use of alcohol and recreational drugs in relationship to sexual practices was investigated longitudinally and cross-sectionally in a cohort of homosexually active men at a Boston community health center. Use of marijuana, nitrite inhalants, and cocaine decreased by approximately 25-48% during 42 months of follow-up, whereas use of alcohol showed little change. Men who initially reported both high-risk sexual practices and some use of alcohol or marijuana and who subsequently stopped using marijuana or reduced their frequency of alcohol use were significantly more likely to stop those unsafe sexual practices than were those who continued to use these substances. Men who at their most recent visit reported impaired judgement during sexual activity due to substance use, and particularly due to drug use, had significantly higher levels of perceived susceptibility to AIDS and barriers to behavior change, and lower levels of self-efficacy, which were independent of their unsafe sexual practices.
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PMID:Use of drugs and alcohol by homosexually active men in relation to sexual practices. 235 25

This paper describes the sexual behavior changes made by 686 gay and bisexual men in San Francisco between 1984 and 1988, focusing on the individual maintenance of this behavior change over time. There were drastic reductions in insertive and receptive unprotective anal intercourse over time and the vast majority of subjects were able to maintain these changes for at least 12 months prior to the last interview. A total of 12 percent of participants admitted to relapsing to unprotected receptive anal intercourse following initial behavior change; 10 percent reported engaging in unprotected receptive anal sex during every year of the study period. Men were more likely to practice unprotected anal intercourse in 1988 if at baseline they were younger, practiced unprotected anal intercourse, reported more sex partners, did not have a close friend or lover with AIDS, and engaged in fewer other health-related behaviors.
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PMID:Maintenance of safer sexual behaviors and predictors of risky sex: the San Francisco Men's Health Study. 236 61

We examined psychiatric correlates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in a major risk group for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, men with hemophilia. A central goal was to identify psychosocial factors associated with increased vulnerability to psychiatric distress after infection with HIV. Seventy-five hemophiliacs, 31 of whom were HIV seropositive (HIV+), were studied. The HIV+ men had elevated depression, anxiety, and anger-hostility symptom scores relative to those of men who were seronegative for HIV. There were no additional symptom differences among men according to infection stage or clinical severity of hemophilia. Men with any of eight psychosocial characteristics were particularly susceptible to effects of infection on mental health: a personal history of psychiatric distress before HIV diagnosis; familial psychiatric history; a high school education or less; low social support from one's wife; low family support; low friend support; a poor sense of mastery over one's life; and experiencing recent life events involving loss. The HIV+ men with one or more such characteristics were highly symptomatic; remaining HIV+ men had significantly lower symptom levels, similar to the low levels noted in the men seronegative for HIV. The findings provide initial empiric support for the notion that clinical services to alleviate emotional distress should be targeted to intervene on HIV+ persons' psychosocial assets and liabilities.
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PMID:Infection with human immunodeficiency virus and vulnerability to psychiatric distress. A study of men with hemophilia. 237 44

In the course of learning their HIV serostatus, gay and bisexual men participated in small discussion groups aimed at increasing their practice of safer sex. Small discussion groups were randomly assigned to receive one of two interventions: a lecture/discussion by a gay health educator, or an intervention that included the lecture/discussion followed by a small group process aimed at increasing social skills for safer sex and at increasing peer support for safer sex. Men completed questionnaires relating to their knowledge about HIV and AIDS, attitudes toward sexual behavior change, and self-reported sexual behavior. At second follow-up, one year post-intervention, men who had received skills training and peer support endorsed significantly stronger attitudes in favor of safer sex than did men receiving lecture/discussion only. In particular, skills training and peer support caused greater reduction of the value placed on ejaculation inside the partner, stronger endorsement of plans to use condoms, and greater reduction of negative attitudes about condoms, than did lecture/discussion only. These results are helpful to design interventions for men who continue to engage in riskful behavior.
AIDS Educ Prev 1990
PMID:Preventing HIV infection in gay and bisexual men: experimental evaluation of attitude change from two risk reduction interventions. 239 25

Rates of sexual-partner change and patterns of high-risk behaviour are important determinants of the spread of HIV. We carried out a survey to assess the feasibility of studying sexual lifestyle in a random sample of the British population, aged 16-64 years, in November 1987. Two thousand and seventy-seven households were selected using a multi-stage probability sampling procedure. Seven hundred and eight-five adults participated in a structured interview. The schedule included demographic details, attitudes to AIDS, numbers of sexual partners in different time periods, history of homosexuality and contact with prostitutes. An interview was obtained in 61% of households where contact was made, but the overall response rate was low (48%). There was marked variability between individuals in numbers of sexual partners in given time intervals. Men and women in younger cohorts had experienced first sexual intercourse earlier and had higher numbers of sexual partners than people in older cohorts. Surprisingly few reported high-risk behaviour such as homosexuality and use of prostitution. The methodological problems in trying to obtain unbiased and valid data on sexual behaviour are discussed. Further work is necessary to improve the response rate and questionnaire design.
AIDS 1989 Mar
PMID:A pilot study of sexual lifestyle in a random sample of the population of Great Britain. 251 59

Several studies have found reductions in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) risk practices among gay men in high AIDS-prevalence cities since the start of the AIDS crisis. Much less is known about risk behavior patterns among gay men in smaller cities, where AIDS cases are less common and the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection is relatively lower. In the study, men entering gay bars in three cities, one large and two small, completed anonymous surveys of sexual practices and AIDS risk knowledge. Men in high AIDS-prevalence areas were found to have had a greater number of sexual partners, were more knowledgeable about AIDS, were much more likely to engage in low-risk practices (such as mutual masturbation or body rubbing), and had unprotected anal intercourse less frequently than gay men in smaller cities. The most common sexual activity among gay men in the larger city was mutual masturbation, a low-risk practice. The most common sexual activity among gay men in the smaller cities was unprotected anal intercourse. Increased efforts are needed to educate gay men and to promote risk behavior changes among those living in smaller cities and in communities outside the prominent AIDS epicenters.
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PMID:Differences in gay men's AIDS risk knowledge and behavior patterns in high and low AIDS prevalence cities. 250 13

Predictors of adoption of safer sexual behaviors were examined in a cohort of 278 homosexually active men with stable HIV-antibody status followed over 12 months at a Boston community health center. The behaviors examined included: (1) restriction of partners to one monogamous or steady relationship and (2) among men who maintained multiple or non-steady partners, the avoidance of unprotected receptive and insertive anogenital contact. For each behavior, men who adopted consistently safer behavior were compared with those who remained unsafe, using bivariate analyses and multiple logistic regression modelling. The strongest predictor of all behaviors was the initial level of the unsafe behavior. After controlling for this, weak effects of several health beliefs were found, including perceived susceptibility and medical efficacy. Men who became aware of a positive HIV-antibody test result and who reported greater effort to change their behavior were more likely to adopt safer insertive anogenital contact. In this generally well-educated cohort with high levels of knowledge about AIDS, adoption of safer sexual behaviors is best predicted from previous levels of unsafe behavior.
AIDS 1989 Jul
PMID:Predictors of AIDS-preventive behavior among homosexually active men: a longitudinal study. 250 48


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