Age at coming out among gay/lesbian/bisexual (GLB) persons and sexual debut with same-gendered partners has typically been investigated in samples that do not reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of these communities. Addressing this limitation, data were collected from a diverse sample of men and women attending large-scale GLB community events in New York and Los Angeles in 2003 (N = 2,733). Compared to older cohorts, younger cohorts (18-24 year olds) of both men and women reported significantly earlier ages for sexual debut with same-gendered partners, and earlier ages for coming out to themselves and to others. Also, women began the process at later ages than men, as they reported coming out to themselves and sexual debut with a same-gender partner approximately two years later than men. There were no racial or ethnic differences in age out to self or others; however, persons of color were less likely to be out to their parents. Service providers, sexuality educators, and researchers should attend to the diversity in experience of coming out among GLB populations as they relate to the individuals gender, age, and racial and ethnic backgrounds.

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Much of our understanding of the association between the Sexual Compulsivity Scale (SCS; Kalichman et al., 1994) and sexual risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM) has been limited to samples of HIV positive MSM only. Using data from a community-based survey of gay and bisexual men (n = 1214), this analysis sought to further evaluate the association between the SCS and sexual risk behavior. The SCS was significantly associated with a variety of sexual risk behaviors, including having sex under the influence of club drugs, engaging in unprotected anal sex (receptive or insertive) with partners of the same and/or different HIV serostatus, identity as a barebacker, intentions to have bareback sex, number of recent sex partners, and temptation for unsafe sex. The SCS was also significantly associated with having engaged in a variety of specialized sexual behaviors (i.e., fetishes), many of which can increase HIV transmission risks. Finally, in multivariate analyses, the SCS significantly predicted unprotected sex with a non-main partner even when controlling for race, HIV serostatus, age, identity as a barebacker, and club drug use. These data indicate that the SCS may be able to serve as an indicator to detect HIV-associated sexual risk behavior in community-based samples of gay and bisexual men.

Because of the stigma associated with transgenderism, many transwomen (biological males who identify as female or transgender) experience rejection or abuse at the hands of their parents and primary caregivers as children and adolescents. The Parental Acceptance-Rejection (PAR) theory indicates that a child's experience of rejection may have a significant impact on their adult lives. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative analysis of adult transwomen of color's experiences with caregivers, guided by PAR theory. Twenty transwomen of color completed semi-structured interviews exploring the reaction of their parents and primary caregivers to their gender. While many participants reported that at least one parent or close family member responded with warmth and acceptance, the majority confronted hostility and aggression; reports of neglect and undifferentiated rejection were also common. Many transwomen were forced out of their homes as adolescents or chose to leave, increasing their risk of homelessness, poverty, and associated negative sequelae. Future research is needed to explore how families come to terms with having a transgender child and how best to promote acceptance of such children.

Understanding the link between venues for meeting sex partners and sexual risk behavior is critical to developing and placing effective sexual health education and HIV prevention services. Non-monogamous gay and bisexual men (n = 886) were surveyed in New York and Los Angeles about the venues that they met recent sex partners: bathhouses, private sex parties, gay bars/clubs, the gym, via public cruising, and the Internet. Bars/clubs, bathhouses, and the Internet were the most endorsed venues for meeting partners. Men having met a majority of their partners (i.e., "preference") via these three venues were compared/contrasted. Those having preference for bars/clubs were dissimilar from men with preference for bathhouses or the Internet on multiple levels (e.g. age, number of sex partners, temptation for unsafe sex). However, these men were proportionally similar in whether they had engaged in a recent episode of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI). Logistic regressions predicting UAI suggested venues might not play a role in differentiating men who had preference for bars/clubs, bathhouses or the Internet. Additional regression analyses utilizing all six venues to predict UAI suggested other person-factors such as identity as a barebacker and temptation for unsafe sex better explain UAI. This research suggests HIV prevention and educational campaigns targeted within venues need also address socio-psychological person-factors in addition to environmental/venue contexts.

Barebacking and its corresponding behaviors pose immediate public health risks for HIV-positive gay and bisexual men. Further work is needed to understand this phenomenon more fully in relation to the psychological, sociological, biomedical, and cultural realities.

Unprotected sex among gay/bisexual men throughout the AIDS epidemic has usually been described as unintentional due to a relapse from safer sex behavior. The term "barebacking" emerged among HIV-positive men explicitly seeking unprotected sex with seroconcordant partners, but has come into use in the larger gay community to simply mean condomless sex. Some men have also taken on the identity as a "barebacker." The present study assessed prevalence and predictors of bareback identity in a sample 687 gay/bisexual men attending community events. Barebackers reported significantly more use of crystal methamphetamine and higher peer norms for unprotected sex; HIV-negative barebackers were higher in sexual compulsivity while HIV-positive barebackers were higher in romantic obsession as well as drug/alcohol influenced sexual expectancies. HIV prevention efforts targeting barebackers and barebacking must be carefully developed if programs and campaigns are to be effective given the open debates about this phenomenon in the gay community.

Disclosure is not an all-or-nothing process, as evidenced by the 38% of men in the sample who reported disclosing to some, but not all, of their casual sexual partners. These inconsistent disclosers, who reported the most sexual risk practices, seem to lack strategies to deal with disclosure and risky sex. Some men who never disclose appear to have been able to adopt strategies by which they do not engage in sexual risk with casual partners. Interventions to improve self-efficacy for disclosure and help HIV-positive gay and bisexual men to identify and adopt specific strategies to address disclosure and safe sex are needed.