Alcohol Use Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men

Self Cite

Objective To examine patterns of substance use over time in a new generation of emerging adult gay, bisexual, and other young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Methods Data were drawn from the first four waves of on ongoing prospective cohort study of YMSM who were ages 18 to19 at baseline and were assessed each 6 months for substance use via calendar based methods. Latent growth curve modeling was utilized to assess changes over time for four drug use categories: alcohol, marijuana, inhalant nitrates, and other drugs (e.g., cocaine, ecstasy) and between groups (race/ethnicity, perceived familial socioeconomic status; SES). Results Use of all substances increased steadily across the follow-up period. White YMSM demonstrated higher levels of alcohol use at the 18-mo follow-up visit compared to other racial/ethnic groups, while rates of change across groups were similar. Marijuana use at 18 months was highest for Hispanics who also indicated the highest rate of change. Finally, YMSM who reported higher perceived SES reported the lowest use and lowest rates of change for other drug use. Controlling for perceived SES, differences in patterns of drug use by race/ethnicity were evident but differences were not as large. Conclusions Increases in substance use in the emerging adulthood of YMSM indicate the need for structural and behavioral interventions tailored to address substance use in these young men before chronic patterns of use develop. Differences in patterns of drug use across racial/ethnic and SES groups suggest that interventions need to consider person-level differences.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Modeling substance use in emerging adult gay, bisexual, and other YMSM across time: The P18 cohort study

Halkitis¹,

Siconolfi²,

Stults³

et al. 2014

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“…Global association studies typically suggest a positive association between aggregate substance use and sexual risk behaviors in the general population (Leigh and Stall, 1993) as well as among GBMSM, with positive associations found between condomless anal sex (CAS) and frequent alcohol use (Morin et al, 2005; Tawk et al, 2004), heavy alcohol use (Colfax et al, 2004; Koblin et al, 2003; Woody et al, 1999), and any use of marijuana (Koblin et al, 2003) or club drugs, including cocaine, MDMA/ecstasy, methamphetamine, GHB, and ketamine (Colfax et al, 2005; Drumright et al, 2006b; Klitzman et al, 2002; Koblin et al, 2003; Purcell et al, 2001, 2005; Rusch et al, 2004; Woody et al, 1999). In addition to increased risk of CAS, recent studies continue to support associations between global alcohol and drug use and an increased number of sexual partners (Greenwood et al, 2001; Klitzman et al, 2002; Pollock et al, 2012). For example, Klitzman and colleagues found that, compared to low frequency MDMA users, higher frequency MDMA users had more sex partners and more “one night stands” (Klitzman et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggregate and event-level associations between substance use and sexual behavior among gay and bisexual men: Comparing retrospective and prospective data

Rendina

Moody

Ventuneac

et al. 2015

Background Despite limited research, some evidence suggests that examining substance use at multiple levels may be of greater utility in predicting sexual behavior than utilizing one level of measurement, particularly when investigating different substances simultaneously. We aimed to examine aggregated and event-level associations between three forms of substance use—alcohol, marijuana, and club drugs—and two sexual behavior outcomes—sexual engagement and condomless anal sex (CAS). Method Analyses focused on both 6-week timeline follow-back (TLFB; retrospective) and 30-day daily diary (prospective) data among a demographically diverse sample of 371 highly sexually active HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay and bisexual men. Results Models from both TLFB and diary showed that event-level use of alcohol, marijuana, and club drugs was associated with increased sexual engagement, while higher aggregated frequency marijuana and any frequency club drug use were associated with decreased sexual engagement. Event-level use of club drugs was consistently associated with increased odds of CAS across both TLFB and diary models while higher frequency marijuana use was most consistently associated with a lower odds of CAS. Conclusions Findings indicated that results are largely consistent between retrospective and prospective data, but that retrospective results for substance use and sexual engagement were generally greater in magnitude. These results suggest that substance use primarily acts to increase sexual risk at the event-level and less so through individual-level frequency of use; moreover, it primarily does so by increasing the likelihood of sex on a given day with fewer significant associations with the odds of CAS on sex days.

“…Studies have shown high rates of alcohol use and abuse among men who have sex with men (MSM; Stall et al, 2001; Woolf and Maisto, 2009; Reisner et al, 2010; Pollock et al, 2012). Factors associated with problematic alcohol use among MSM include depression (Reisner et al, 2010), lower socio-economic status, history of incarceration, frequenting gay bars (Wong et al, 2008), HIV positive status (Deiss et al, 2013) and non-gay sexual identity (Agronick et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An examination of associations between social norms and risky alcohol use among African American men who have sex with men

Tobin

Davey‐Rothwell

Yang

et al. 2014

Background Research has indicated associations between risky alcohol consumption and sexual risk behavior, which may in turn present risk of HIV acquisition or transmission. Little is known about social determinants of problematic alcohol use among African American MSM (AA MSM), a risk group disproportionately affected by HIV. The present study sought to explore associations between risky alcohol use and perceived peer norms of alcohol use among a sample of urban African American men who have sex with men (AA MSM). Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered to 142 AA MSM in Baltimore, Maryland, recruited using active and passive methods. Risky and hazardous alcohol use was assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and participants self-reported descriptive and injunctive peer norms regarding frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption. Results Nearly half reported hazardous or high risk consumption of alcohol. Perceived peer alcohol norms, both descriptive and injunctive, were associated with alcohol use, including hazardous use. Conclusions The findings highlight the role of social factors on problematic alcohol use among AA MSM. Results indicate that AA MSM's use of alcohol is associated with their perceptions of peer alcohol use. Potential interventions could include norms-based campaigns that seek to reduce risky alcohol consumption among AA MSM as well as programs to screen and identify individuals with problematic alcohol use.