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Does “High = High Risk”? An Event-Based Analysis of the Relationship Between Substance Use and Unprotected Anal Sex Among Gay and Bisexual Men

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Abstract

This study examined the relationship between substance use and condom use using a study design that remedied some of the methodological problems noted in prior research. A community sample of 147 gay men completed daily diaries in which they reported their substance use and sexual behaviors for 8 weeks. This method helped ensure the contiguity of substance use and sexual behaviors, established the temporal relationships between them, and controlled for confounding individual differences that could cause both substance use and sexual risktaking. A within-subjects analysis showed no significant relationships between condom use and alcohol and/or drug use consumed within 4 hr of having anal sex. Condoms were more likely to be used with casual than with steady partners and were more likely to be used by HIV− men. These results suggest that the relationships found in prior studies could be due to measurement differences or confounding personality or situational factors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98105-6299

    Mary Rogers Gillmore

  2. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98105-6299

    Diane M. Morrison, Marilyn J. Hoppe, Jan Gaylord & Damian T. Rainey

  3. Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98105

    Barbara C. Leigh

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  1. Mary Rogers Gillmore
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Gillmore, M.R., Morrison, D.M., Leigh, B.C. et al. Does “High = High Risk”? An Event-Based Analysis of the Relationship Between Substance Use and Unprotected Anal Sex Among Gay and Bisexual Men. AIDS Behav 6, 361–370 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021104930612

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