Abstract
Online partner-seeking among adolescent sexual minority males (ASMM) has been associated with condomless anal sex. Two hypotheses may explain this association: that online venues facilitate HIV transmission risk behavior more than offline venues (accentuation), or that individuals who tend to engage in these behaviors are more likely to seek partners online (self-selection). We examined these hypotheses in 700 13–18 year-old ASMM who completed the baseline survey of an effectiveness trial of an HIV prevention program in 2018–2020. The survey assessed demographic, sexual, and venue characteristics of male anal sex partnerships in the past 3 months. Many participants (83%) reported ≥ 1 online-met partner; most were met via sexual networking applications and were older than offline-met partners. Having met partners online, but not whether a particular partner was met online, was associated with greater odds of receptive condomless sex. Findings support the self-selection hypothesis, which has implications for HIV prevention in ASMM.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2033-2045 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | AIDS and behavior |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2021 |
Funding
This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to Brian Mustanski (U01 MD011281).
Keywords
- Adolescent sexual behavior
- Geosocial networking applications
- HIV/AIDS
- Sexual minorities
- Social media
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Social Psychology
