Sildenafil (Viagra) and Club Drug Use in Gay and Bisexual Men: The Role of Drug Combinations and Context

Halkitis, Perry N.; Green, Kelly A.

doi:10.1177/1557988307300450

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Consistent with the literature documenting the associations between substance use and sexual risk taking among MSM [42][43][44], in the current study the use of crystal methamphetamine at the most recent sex party attended, and use of crystal methamphetamine and ED drugs by their sexual partners strongly predicted SDUAS at the most recent sex party, suggesting that substance use interventions may be necessary for this population. These findings are consistent with other studies of MSM which have found the use of club drugs in combination with ED medications to be highly associated with sex party participation, with as many as 37-41% of club-drug using MSM reporting GHB and crystal methamphetamine use before or during their attendance at sex parties [45][46][47]. The current findings provide additional insight and suggest that drug use by participants and their sex party partners is highly associated with HIV sexual risk behavior in this context.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Sex Parties among Urban MSM: An Emerging Culture and HIV Risk Environment

et al. 2010

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Private sex parties are an emerging risk environment for HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM). In 2009, 103 participants who reported attending at least one sex party in Massachusetts in the prior 12 months completed an in-depth, interviewer-administered quantitative assessment. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations with having engaged in one or more serodiscordant unprotected anal sex (SDUAS) acts at the most recent sex party attended. Nearly one-third (32%) of the sample reported engaging in SDUAS at the most recent sex party attended. Adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment, variables associated with an increased odds of engaging in SDUAS at the most recent sex party were: total number of unprotected anal receptive sex acts at sex parties in the past 12 months, self-perception of being at-risk for transmitting or acquiring HIV, and sexual sensation seeking. Examined in the same model, if condoms were provided/available at the most recent sex party attended, participants were at a decreased odds of engaging in SDUAS at that sex party. The majority (80%) expressed an interest in HIV prevention activities for MSM who attend sex parties. HIV prevention interventions are needed to reach MSM who attend sex parties and should take into account individual and contextual factors that may contribute to sexual risk. Environmental factors in the sex party setting, in particular the presence and availability of condoms, may potentially mitigate individual-level factors such as unprotected anal sex.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Sex Parties among Urban MSM: An Emerging Culture and HIV Risk Environment

et al. 2010

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“…First, Asian American MSM comprise a significant presence within the San Francisco gay community, as well as the population of the San Francisco Bay Area in general (United States Census Bureau, 2000). Second, they have been under-represented or absent in many major studies on drug use among MSM (e.g., Cochran et al, 2004; Colfax et al, 2004; Halkitis & Green, 2007; Halkitis, Sherm, & Martin, 2005; Kubicek, McDavitt, Carpineto, Weiss, Iverson, & Kipke, 2007; Plankey et al, 2007; Purcell, Moss, Remien, Woods, & Parsons, 2005; Rosario, Schrimshaw, & Hunter, 2004). This is despite a few significant studies pointing to rates of drug use within groups of Asian American MSM that are comparable to those among MSM of other ethnicities (Grov et al, 2006; Reback, 1997; Thiede et al, 2003).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s One of the Better Drugs to Use”: Perceptions of Cocaine Use Among Gay and Bisexual Asian American Men

2010

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Research on drug use among gay and bisexual men has primarily focused on examining the link between drug use -most notably, methamphetamine -sexual practices, and risk of HIV transmission. Drawing on in-depth qualitative data from 40 interviews with gay and bisexual Asian American men, we examine perceptions and meanings associated with cocaine use in the San Francisco Bay Area gay community. We found that our participants, in contrast to their negative perceptions of methamphetamine use, believed that cocaine enhanced sociability and was acceptable for use in most social situations. Furthermore, participants perceived little connection between cocaine use and risky sexual practices, emphasizing the drug's safety relative to other illicit substances. Overall, these findings suggest that an increase in the favorability of cocaine use might be an unintended consequence of methamphetamine prevention campaigns, targeting the gay community, with their emphasis on the harmful effects of drug use, unsafe sex and HIV risk. Keywordsaddiction / substance use; bisexuals; ethnicity; gays and lesbians; health behavior; HIV/AIDS prevention; men's health; minorities; risk, behaviors; risk, perceptionsResearchers have documented particularly high levels of drug use among men who have sex with men (MSM) compared to the rest of the population (Cochran, Ackerman, Mays, & Ross, 2004;Greenwood et al., 2001). There have been relatively few large-scale studies comparing drug-use rates and patterns among heterosexuals and MSM, and differing sampling methods used in heterosexual and MSM studies are rarely equivalent . However, those studies that do make these comparisons between MSM and non-MSM drug users typically indicate higher rates of lifetime drug use (Cochran et al., 2004), polydrug use (Halkitis, Palamar, & Mukherjee, 2007;Stall & Wiley, 1988), and overall levels of drug consumption McDowell, 1999) among MSM. Notably, high levels of drug use have been documented among MSM in gay urban epicenters such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (Clatts, Goldsamt, & Yi, 2005a&b;Grov et al., 2006;Stall & Purcell, 2000). Club drugs, in particular, have been associated with MSM. 1 For example, in studies comparing rates of drug use among MSM and heterosexuals in the dance and club scenes, researchers have highlighted higher rates of marijuana, cocaine, and popper use (McKirnan & Peterson, 1989); of crystal methamphetamine, ecstasy, and ketamine use (Lampinen, McGhee, & Martin, 2006); and of ketamine and methamphetamine use (Degenhardt, 2005) among MSM. Even though a fewCorresponding Author Dr. Geoffrey Hunt, Ph.D., Institute for Scientific Analysis, 1150 Ballena Blvd., Suite 211, Alameda, California 94501, USA huntgisa@ix.netcom.com. Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptQual Health Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 May 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manus...

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“…Given that depression has been found to be associated with unprotected sex among MSM, [20][21][22] and is typically correlated with social anxiety, 23,24 the associations between social performance anxiety with unprotected sex were examined controlling for depression. Other risk factors for unprotected sex, such as smoking, 25 alcohol use, [26][27][28] and use of club drugs such as ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine, GHB, and crystal methamphetamine, 26,[29][30][31][32] were also controlled for in the present study to examine if social performance anxiety would be a robust correlate of unprotected insertive and receptive anal intercourse in multivariate analyses. Given that there is a lack of data on social performance anxiety and unprotected insertive sex among men who have sex with women only (MSW), analyses were also conducted to examine if social performance anxiety is associated with unprotected insertive sex among MSM only, or also among MSW.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Anxiety and HIV Transmission Risk among HIV-Seropositive Male Patients

Hart

James

Purcell

et al. 2008

AIDS Patient Care and STDs

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The role of psychological factors in predicting HIV sexual transmission risk behavior is increasingly of interest in prevention research. Social anxiety, or anxiety about being evaluated in interpersonal situations, is associated with unprotected insertive anal intercourse among young men who have sex with men (MSM) and with other behavioral risk factors for unprotected intercourse, such as depression, smoking, alcohol use, and drug use. Social anxiety may be especially relevant in understanding HIV risk among HIV-seropositive men, given its stronger association with unprotected insertive than with receptive anal intercourse. In the present study, for which participants were recruited between October 2002 and May 2003, HIV-positive men attending regularly scheduled primary care medical appointments at a community HIV clinic were approached by research personnel and informed about the study topic and procedures. Ninety percent of patients approached agreed to participate, resulting in a sample of 206 patients. The sample was primarily African American, unemployed, of low educational level, and 95% of the sample had an AIDS diagnosis. The present study replicated and extended previous research from community samples by demonstrating an association between social anxiety and unprotected insertive anal intercourse with non-HIV-positive partners in a clinical sample of HIV-positive MSM and men who have sex with women (MSW). This association was maintained controlling for depression, smoking, and club drug use. Social anxiety is a relatively robust risk factor for unprotected insertive anal intercourse among MSM. Future work should examine the mechanisms by which social anxiety is associated with sexual risk among MSM. 879

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Sildenafil (Viagra) and Club Drug Use in Gay and Bisexual Men: The Role of Drug Combinations and Context

Cited by 22 publications

References 39 publications

Sex Parties among Urban MSM: An Emerging Culture and HIV Risk Environment

Sex Parties among Urban MSM: An Emerging Culture and HIV Risk Environment

“It’s One of the Better Drugs to Use”: Perceptions of Cocaine Use Among Gay and Bisexual Asian American Men

Social Anxiety and HIV Transmission Risk among HIV-Seropositive Male Patients

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