A Review of the Literature on Event-Level Substance Use and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Vosburgh, H. Waverly; Mansergh, Gordon; Sullivan, Patrick S.; Purcell, David W.

doi:10.1007/s10461-011-0131-8

Cited by 302 publications

(286 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

256

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…That sexual sessions featuring binge drinking or crystal methamphetamine are more likely to include intercourse and are less likely to include condoms than sexual sessions that do not feature drugs has also been shown. 23 Thirdly, panel data from the same men at different points in time show that the same men having sex on crystal methamphetamine are more likely to have condomless anal sex than they are having sex on the drugs or without drugs. 24 Much time and energy has gone into (continues to go into) debating the associations between drugs, sex and risk.…”

Section: Locating Chemsex As Edgeworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemsex as edgework: towards a sociological understanding

Hickson¹

2018

Sex. Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual sessions between men, organised through mobile technologies and combined with stimulants intended to extend and intensify the session, have been reified into the phenomena of 'chemsex'. Understanding chemsex requires multiple levels of analysis and interpretation. This paper considers chemsex through the lens of edgework, a sociological category for voluntary risk taking identified in 1990 by Stephen Lyng. Edgework activities involve a clear and present danger to the self, intense emotions and sensations and an opportunity to exercise specialist skills. Using published research and other cultural products, I demonstrate that chemsex fully exhibits all the defining features of edgework. Chemsex is then positioned as an activity that epitomises the (gay) citizen as consumer in a technocapitalist age of pharmaco-pornographic consumption.2

show abstract

Section: Locating Chemsex As Edgeworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemsex as edgework: towards a sociological understanding

Hickson¹

2018

Sex. Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Two recent and substantive literature reviews describe how assessment of substance use with or without sex among MSM has been inconsistent among prior studies. 16,17 Despite these inconsistencies, several key themes were noted. Vosburgh and colleagues indicated that event-level use of methamphetamine and binge alcohol use provided the strongest causal link for acquisition of HIV among MSM.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship Characteristics Differ Based on Use of Substances with Sex among an Urban Internet Sample of HIV-Discordant and HIV-Positive Male Couples

Mitchell

2015

J Urban Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous research with men who have sex with men (MSM) has found that substance use with sex is strongly associated with HIV acquisition and poor adherence to HIV treatments. Although some studies have assessed male couples' use of substances with unprotected anal sex, little is known on whether differences in their relationship dynamics are associated with their usage. Current HIV prevention initiatives underscore the importance of studying male couples' relationship dynamics. Using dyadic data from 28 HIV-positive and 58 HIV-discordant male couples, this analysis sought to: (1) describe, by substance type, whether neither, one, or both partners in the couple used a particular substance with sex within their relationship or outside of the relationship, respectively, and (2) assess, by substance type, whether relationship characteristic differences existed between these three groups of couples with respect to substance use with sex within and outside the relationship. Data from 86 dyads came from a cross-sectional, Internet study. Multivariate multinomial regression models were employed to achieve the aims. Except for alcohol, most did not use substances with sex. Within the relationship, those who used with sex varied by substance type; outside the relationship, most couples had only one partner who used with sex regardless of substance type. Several relationship characteristic differences were noted between the groups of couples. Within the relationship, marijuana and erectile dysfunction medication (EDM) use with sex was associated with having less tangible resources; for outside the relationship, these were associated with perceiving to have greater quality of alternatives. In general, amyl nitrates and party drug use with sex were associated with viewing the main partner as being less dependable for trustworthiness. Marijuana and party drug use with sex within the relationship and EDM use with sex outside the relationship were negatively associated with being able to communicate constructively. Mixed results were noted for relationship satisfaction. Additional research is urgently needed for prevention and promotion of healthy relationships for male couples who use substances with sex.

show abstract

“…But this explanation uncritically reproduces the cultural notion of 'disinhibition' to explain sexual risk-taking and neglects event-level and other analyses that find that people who engage in unprotected sex under the influence of drugs are just as likely to take sexual risks when they have not consumed these substances. 4,12,[70][71][72][73][74][75] Many alternative explanations for the correlation between drug use and sexual risk-taking are possible; those who engage in the consumption of illicit drugs may simply be more likely to engage in other risky practices (such as unprotected sex); and/or drug use may itself be prompted by shame around unprotected sex. As both illicit drug use and sex without condoms represent instances of sociomedical non-compliance, those who are led to breach one of these prescriptions may well be inclined to breach the other in certain circumstances, especially when such prescriptions fail to take into account the lived realities and constraints of people's everyday lives and desires.…”

Section: Sexualised Drug Usementioning

confidence: 99%

The future of drugs: recreational drug use and sexual health among gay and other men who have sex with men

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. There are complex historical connections between sexual minoritisation and desires to chemically alter bodily experience. For gay men, drug and alcohol use can be a creative or experimental response to social marginalisation -and not necessarily a problematic one in every instance. Numerous studies have found that infection with HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) is more likely among gay and men who have sex with men (MSM) who use recreational drugs than those who do not, but the causal nature of these relations is uncertain. Sexualised drug use is associated with a range of other problems, including dependence, mental health issues, accident and overdose. A growing body of work in the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) field demonstrates the action of drugs and their purported effects to be a product of their relations with various other actors, contexts and practices. Given these contingencies, it is impossible to predict the future of drugs or their effect on the sexual health of gay and MSM with any degree of certainty. This article outlines some of the conditions most likely to mediate such futures in the medium term. Public funding for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer drug issues should not remain restricted to questions of HIV prevention and sexual health. It should be expanded to equip sexual health and AOD service providers with the cultural and sexual literacy to mitigate stigma and allow them to respond constructively to drug problems among sexual and gender minorities as a matter of priority.

show abstract

A Review of the Literature on Event-Level Substance Use and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Cited by 302 publications

References 66 publications

Chemsex as edgework: towards a sociological understanding

Chemsex as edgework: towards a sociological understanding

Relationship Characteristics Differ Based on Use of Substances with Sex among an Urban Internet Sample of HIV-Discordant and HIV-Positive Male Couples

The future of drugs: recreational drug use and sexual health among gay and other men who have sex with men

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About