Toward a Better Understanding of Non-Addicted, Methamphetamine- Using, Men who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Atlanta

Abstract

Methamphetamine use has increasingly become linked with sexual risk behaviors among men have sex with men (MSM). Yet, the majority of research has been done with methamphetamine dependent MSM or with samples in which addiction to the substance was not evaluated. Furthermore, research with methamphetamine-using MSM in the Southern U.S. is lacking. In this study, focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted in order to understand the motives, context, and other facilitators and barriers of methamphetamine use among non-addicted MSM residing in Atlanta. Participants included 30 non-addicted, methamphetamine-using MSM and 16 local mental and public health officials. Findings from the first of this two-phase formative research project will result in the initial development of a community-tested, culturally-specific social marketing campaign and an individual-based intervention based in HIVtesting facilities.Keywords: Methamphetamine, MSM, non-addicted users, social marketing campaign, drug use in Atlanta.The use of methamphetamine has become increasingly prevalent throughout the United States in recent years, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM) living in urban settings [1,2]. Already recognized for its high propensity for addiction [3] and negative impact on mental [4,5] and affective [6,7] functioning, methamphetamine use is also correlated with significant public health concerns for MSM, specifically high-risk sexual behavior and HIV transmission. This link between HIV risk and methamphetamine use among MSM has been welldocumented in several large urban settings [8][9][10][11][12]. However, there has existed limited methamphetamine-related research conducted with MSM in Atlanta [13,14]. This lack of investigation is surprising given that Atlanta possesses the highest rate of methamphetamine use among any major urban area east of the Mississippi River [15] and the largest proportion of MSM residents in the region [16]. Furthermore, HIV/AIDS infection rates in Atlanta rank in the top 10 of all metropolitan cities, with MSM comprising nearly half (49%) of all cumulative AIDS cases and an increasing proportion of new HIV infections [17]. While recent epidemiological indicators suggest methamphetamine use in Atlanta is down since its peak in 2005 [15], it is difficult to determine the exact prevalence of and trends associated with methamphetamine use within the MSM community given the lack of empirical investigation.Responses to the public health threats associated with methamphetamine use among MSM have mostly involved substance abuse treatment of dependent users and cityspecific, community-level education efforts. In the past decade, effective drug treatment programs have been developed for methamphetamine-dependent MSM. These programs, although not available in the Southeast, have utilized contingency management strategies [18,19], gayspecific cognitive-behavioral therapy [20,21], gay-specific social support therapy [20], and combination psychopharmacology and cognitive-behavioral approa...

Erhebung der Motive für den Konsum amphetaminartiger Substanzen anhand von Mind Maps

“…Bisherige Untersuchungen verdeutlichten u. a. die Bedeutung von Konsummotiven wie die Verbesserung des Sexualerlebens [7][8][9][10], die Verbesserung (kognitiver) Leistungsfähigkeit oder Effizienz einer Tätigkeit [9][10][11][12] und Gewichtsabnahme [7,9,10] und gaben Hinweise darauf, dass unterschiedliche Motive zu Beginn des Konsums und nach Herausbilden einer Abhängigkeit von amphetaminartigen Substanzen handlungsleitend wirken [7]. Werden anfänglich häufig z.…”