The study presented by Gordon Mansergh, Ph.D., at the 12th World AIDS Conference, sought to identify factors that may contribute to continued risk among HIV-negative gay and bisexual men in Chicago, Denver, and San Francisco. Nearly two-thirds of gay men reported engaging in unprotected anal sex at least once during the previous 18 months. These findings underscore the fact that prevention is not as simple as people would like to believe. Prevention programs must recognize the numerous influences on young people's lives and strive to intervene at multiple places. These findings suggest that support for safer sex among their peers and in settings where they meet and socialize with partners may be critical to further reduce risk among gay and bisexual men, particularly young men.
Social influences appear to be having a major impact on risks among young gay and bisexual men.
And young gay men who have a strong tendency to socialize and meet their sexual partners in bars are more likely to have unprotected sex, independent of their alcohol and drug use. CDC stressed that prevention programs to reduce risk among these young men should include a focus on altering peer norms and reaching young men at highest risk in bar settings. Some communities have already found programs to influence peer opinion leaders in bar settings effective in reducing risk behaviors among gay men. CDC researcher Ellen Sogolow, Ph.D., will discuss one of these intervention programs, using a peer opinion leader model, in a related presentation on Wednesday, July 1, 1998. Dr. Gayle further stressed the need for sustained prevention among gay men.