Abstract
Men who have sex with men (MSM) are the largest risk group in the US HIV epidemic and African American MSM (AA MSM) are disproportionately affected. Substance-abusing sexual minorities warrant attention as they are at elevated risk for HIV, yet are not a homogeneous risk group. The purpose of this study was to use latent class analysis to identify patterns of drug and alcohol use in a sample of 359 AA MSM and examine associations with sexual risk. Three classes were identified: Individuals who used multiple substances (poly-users) (18 %), alcohol/marijuana users (33 %) and individuals who had low probability of reporting drug or problematic alcohol use (50 %). Results from multivariate analysis indicate that poly-users were older and more likely to report sex exchange and recent sexually transmitted infection compared to the other classes. Alcohol and poly-users were more likely to report sex under the influence. Identifying and defining substance use patterns can improve specification of risk groups and allocation of prevention resources.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 590-599 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | AIDS and behavior |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1 2016 |
Keywords
- African American MSM
- Alcohol use
- Latent class analysis
- Sexual risk behaviors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Infectious Diseases