Relationship quality among young gay and bisexual men in consensual nonmonogamous relationships

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 3037-3056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Stults
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Sti Prevention ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
Open Relationships ◽  
And Bisexual ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
Relationship Communication

Consensual nonmonogamous (CNM) relationships (e.g., open relationships) are common among adult gay and bisexual men, and thus, younger gay and bisexual men may also engage in consensual nonmonogamy. Yet little is known about CNM relationships among young gay and bisexual men. This is problematic, as nonmonogamy may have important implications for relationship health, which is linked to individual mental and physical health. The present study explored dimensions of relationship quality among a sample of ( n = 20) young gay and bisexual men in CNM relationships. Participants were recruited, along with their primary partners, from an ongoing cohort study of young men who have sex with men in New York City. Participants completed semistructured interviews that included questions about relationship quality. A modified version of the consensual qualitative research method was used to analyze the data. Participants’ responses were also analyzed at the dyad level to assess agreement between partners on dimensions of relationship quality. Among the men interviewed, most reported being satisfied with their relationship with their primary partner and with nonmonogamy more generally. Many participants identified improvements in their overall relationship, communication, and sex life as a result of nonmonogamy. These findings suggest that CNM relationships are viable relationship structures for some young gay and bisexual men. Consistent with these findings, mental health practitioners should help young gay and bisexual men in CNM relationships to bolster their communication and conflict resolution skills and should avoid pathologizing nonmonogamy. Also, medical providers and HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention programs may benefit from increased competence regarding consensual nonmonogamy and should tailor their services to the unique needs of young gay and bisexual men in CNM relationships.

scholarly journals Developing a co-produced, systems-informed, sexually transmitted infection contact tracing intervention for gay and bisexual men who have sex with men and their one-off sexual partners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Flowers ◽  
Sarah Lasoye ◽  
Jean McQueen ◽  
Melvina Woode Owusu ◽  
Merle Symonds ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
And Bisexual ◽  
Sex With Men

Objective: Gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM) bear a disproportionate burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Most STIs are asymptomatic and people infected wont know to seek care unless they are told about their exposure. Contact tracing, is the process of identifying and contacting sex partners of people with STIs for testing and treatment. Contact tracing is sometimes particularly challenging amongst GBMSM because of the kinds of sexual relationships which GBMSM enjoy. These include one-off partners who are particularly important for transmission dynamics as they contribute disproportionately to onwards transmission. The effectiveness of contact tracing interventions within sexual health are patterned by sexual-partner type. Contact tracing and management for one-off partners is an on-going public health challenge. Low motivation amongst index patients, high resource burden on health care professionals and problems with contactability are key barriers to contact tracing. Using insights from complex adaptive systems thinking and behavioural science, we sought to develop an intervention which addressed both the upstream and down-stream determinants of contact tracing and change the system in which many inter-dependent contact tracing behaviours are embedded. Setting UK community-recruited GBMSM, stakeholders, sexual hcp, dating app providers Method Using the MRC complex intervention framework and insights from the INDEX study, a three-phase intervention development process was adopted to specify intervention content. Phase one consisted of an inter-professional and community-member stakeholder event (n=45) where small mixed groups engaged in exploratory systems-mapping and the identification of hot spots for future intervention. Phase two used a series of focus groups with GBMSM (n=28) and interviews with representatives from key dating app providers (DAPs) (n=3) to further develop intervention ideas using the theoretical domains framework, the behaviour change wheel and the behaviour change technique taxonomy. In Phase 3 we again worked with key stakeholders expert health care professionals (HCPs) (n=5) and key workers from community-based organisations (CBOs) (n=6) to hone the intervention ideas and develop programme theory using the APEASE criteria. Results The co-produced intervention levers change simultaneously across the system within which contact tracing is embedded. Multiple change-agents (i.e., GBMSM, CBOs, HCPs) work together, sharing an overall vision to improve sexual health through contact tracing. Each make relatively modest changes that over time, synergistically combine to produce a range of multiple positively-reinforcing feedback loops to engender sustainable change around contact tracing. Agreed intervention elements included: a co-ordinated, co-produced mass and social media intervention to tip cultural norms and beliefs of GBMSM towards enabling more contact tracing and to challenge enduring STI- and sex-related stigmas; complementary CBO-co-ordinated, peer-led work to also focus on reducing STI stigma and enabling more contact tracing between one-off partners; priming GBMSM at the point of STI diagnosis to prepare for contact tracing interactions and reduce HCP and sexual health-service burden; changes to SHS environments and HCP-led interactions to systematically endorse contact tracing; changing national audits and monitoring systems to directly address one-off partner targets; delivering bespoke training to HCPs and CBO staff on one-off partners and the social and cultural context of GBMSM; DAPs active involvement in mass and social media promoting appropriate contact tracing messaging. Conclusion Our combination of multiple data sources, theoretical perspectives and diverse stakeholders have enabled us to develop an expansive, complex intervention that is firmly based in the priorities of those it will affect, and which has a solid theoretical foundation. Future work will assess if and how it will be possible to evaluate it. The resulting intervention is profoundly different than other ways of enhancing contact tracing, as it simultaneously addresses multiple, multi-levelled, upstream and social determinants of contact tracing.

scholarly journals Pilot Trial of a Sexual Health Counseling Intervention for HIV-Positive Gay and Bisexual Men Who Report Anal Sex without Condoms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor A. Hart ◽  
Natalie Stratton ◽  
Todd A. Coleman ◽  
Holly A. Wilson ◽  
Scott H. Simpson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Transmission ◽  
Psychosocial Outcomes ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Sexual Compulsivity ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Anal Sex ◽  
Counseling Intervention ◽  
And Bisexual ◽  
Sex With Men

Background Even in the presence of promising biomedical treatment as prevention, HIV incidence among men who have sex with men has not always decreased. Counseling interventions, therefore, continue to play an important role in reducing HIV sexual transmission behaviors among gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men. The present study evaluated effects of a small-group counseling intervention on psychosocial outcomes and HIV sexual risk behavior. Method HIV-positive (HIV+) peer counselors administered seven 2-hour counseling sessions to groups of 5 to 8 HIV+ gay and bisexual men. The intervention employed information provision, motivational interviewing, and behavioral skills building to reduce sexual transmission risk behaviors. Results There was a significant reduction in condomless anal sex (CAS) with HIV-negative and unknown HIV-status partners, from 50.0% at baseline to 28.9% of the sample at 3-month follow-up. Findings were robust even when controlling for whether the participant had an undetectable viral load at baseline. Significant reductions were also found in the two secondary psychosocial outcomes, loneliness and sexual compulsivity. Conclusions The findings provide preliminary evidence that this intervention may offer an efficient way of concurrently reducing CAS and mental health problems, such as sexual compulsivity and loneliness, for HIV+ gay and bisexual men. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02546271

Helping a Buddy Out

2021 ◽  
pp. 141-157
Author(s):  
Tony Silva
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Sexual Practices ◽  
Hooking Up ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
And Bisexual ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
Three Components

The men interviewed interpreted sex with men as compatible with heterosexuality and masculinity. What the author calls “bud-sex” is the way rural and small-town, white, straight men interpret or engage in sex in ways that reinforce their heterosexuality and masculinity. While the sex these men have with other men involves acts similar to those between gay and bisexual men, the meanings they attach to these acts differ greatly. Bud-sex has three components. First is hooking up with other masculine, white, and straight or bisexual men. Second is having secretive, nonromantic sex. And third is interpreting male-male sex as largely unthreatening to masculinity, heterosexuality, or marriage. Bud-sex, with its unique understandings of gender and sexual identity, reflects and reinforces the men’s embeddedness in straight culture. Sexual identity and masculinity depend on what sex acts mean, rather than on mere mechanics. Consequently, interpretations of sexual practices, not sexual practices in and of themselves, are crucially important. For the straight men interviewed, their interpretations both reflected and reinforced their embeddedness in straight culture. Bud-sex allows straight men to enjoy male-male sex without threatening either their heterosexuality or their masculinity.

Failure to Disclose HIV Risk Among Gay and Bisexual Men Attending Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinics

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda S. Doll ◽  
Janet S. Harrison ◽  
Robert L. Frey ◽  
David McKirnan ◽  
Brad N. Bartholow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Risk ◽  
Sexually Transmitted Disease ◽  
Transmitted Disease ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Sexually Transmitted ◽  
And Bisexual

scholarly journals General practitioner awareness of sexual orientation among a community and internet sample of gay and bisexual men in New Zealand

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Ludlam ◽  
Peter Saxton ◽  
Nigel Dickson ◽  
Anthony Hughes
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Anal Intercourse ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Transmitted Infection ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Hiv Test ◽  
And Bisexual ◽  
Sex With Men

INTRODUCTION: General practitioners (GPs) can improve HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening, vaccination and wellbeing among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBM) if they are aware of a patient?s sexual orientation. AIM: To estimate GP awareness of their GBM patients' sexual orientation and examine whether HIV and STI screening was associated with this. METHODS: We analysed anonymous, self-completed data from 3168 GBM who participated in the community-based Gay Auckland Periodic Sex Survey (GAPSS) and internet-based Gay men's Online Sex Survey (GOSS) in 2014. Participants were asked if their usual GP was aware of their sexual orientation or that they had sex with men. RESULTS: Half (50.5%) believed their usual GP was aware of their sexual orientation/behaviour, 17.0% were unsure, and 32.6% believed he/she was unaware. In multivariate analysis, GP awareness was significantly lower if the respondent was younger, Asian or an 'Other' ethnicity, bisexual-identified, had never had anal intercourse or had first done so very recently or later in life, and had fewer recent male sexual partners. GBM whose GP was aware of their sexual orientation were more likely to have ever had an HIV test (91.5% vs 57.9%; p<0.001), specific STI tests (91.7% vs 68.9%; p<0.001), and were twice as likely to have had an STI diagnosed. DISCUSSION: Lack of sexual orientation disclosure is resulting in missed opportunities to reduce health inequalities for GBM. More proactive, inclusive and safe environments surrounding the care of sexual orientation minorities are needed in general practice to encourage disclosure. KEYWORDS: Culturally competent care; general practice; HIV; HPV; sexual health; sexual orientation

Explanations for Methamphetamine Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men in New York City

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 1331-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perry N. Halkitis ◽  
Beth N. Fischgrund ◽  
Jeffrey T. Parsons
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
York City ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
Methamphetamine Use ◽  
And Bisexual
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