Gay Men's Knowledge of HIV Transmission and ‘Safe’ Sex: A Question of Accuracy

Bond, Ginny; Connell, Raewyn; Kippax, Susan; Dowsett, Gary W.; Sinnott, Vikki; Berg, Rigmor C.; Baxter, Don; Crawford, June; Watson, Lex

doi:10.1002/j.1839-4655.1990.tb00884.x

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Pioneering efforts in safe-sex education generally wove together this unofficial knowledge with the best scientific knowledge of the time (see Watney, 1989). Areas of ambiguity for lay people are often direct reflections of areas of contention in "official" sources (e.g., epidemiology, medicine, or public health; see Kippax et al, 1990;Myers et al, 1993). Indeed, awareness of gray areas in the demarcation of safe from unsafe may be better interpreted as a sign of sophistication rather than one of ignorance.…”

Section: Boundaries Separating Safe From Unsafementioning

confidence: 99%

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Accounting for unsafe sex: Interviews with men who have sex with men

Adam¹,

Sears

Schellenberg

2000

Journal of Sex Research

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Section: Boundaries Separating Safe From Unsafementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kippax et al (1990) found this to be an area of ambiguity among Australian gay men in research conducted as early as 1987. This particular ambiguity is likely exacerbated by national differences in education and prevention programs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

Accounting for unsafe sex: Interviews with men who have sex with men

Adam¹,

Sears

Schellenberg

2000

Journal of Sex Research

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“…Despite the apparent importance of gay men's beliefs about the transmissibility of HIV in sexual behaviours, to our knowledge these beliefs have been investigated directly in only 2 studies 9,10 . These studies did not address several behaviours of considerable interest, however: no data were collected, for example, about the perceived risk of engaging in UAI with a partner repeatedly, rather than just once.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gay men's estimates of the likelihood of HIV transmission in sexual behaviours

Gold

Skinner

2001

Int J STD AIDS

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In 3 studies we recorded gay men's estimates of the likelihood that HIV would be transmitted in various sexual behaviours. In Study 1 (data collected 1993, n=92), the men were found to believe that transmissibility is very much greater than it actually is; that insertive unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) by an HIV-infected partner is made safer by withdrawal before ejaculation, and very much safer by withdrawal before either ejaculation or pre-ejaculation; that UAI is very much safer when an infected partner is receptive rather than insertive; that insertive oral sex by an infected partner is much less risky than even the safest variant of UAI; that HIV is less transmissible very early after infection than later on; and that risk accumulates over repeated acts of UAI less than it actually does. In Study 2 (data collected 1997/8, n=200), it was found that younger and older uninfected men generally gave similar estimates of transmissibility, but that infected men gave somewhat lower estimates than uninfected men; and that estimates were unaffected by asking the men to imagine that they themselves, rather than a hypothetical other gay man, were engaging in the behaviours. Comparison of the 1993 and 1997/8 results suggested that there had been some effect of an educational campaign warning of the dangers of withdrawal; however, there had been no effect either of a campaign warning of the dangers of receptive UAI by an infected partner, or of publicity given to the greater transmissibility of HIV shortly after infection. In Study 3 (data collected 1999, n=59), men induced into a positive mood were found to give lower estimates of transmissibility than either men induced into a neutral mood or men induced into a negative mood. It is argued that the results reveal the important contribution made to gay men's transmissibility estimates by cognitive strategies (such as the 'availability heuristic' and 'anchoring and adjustment') known to be general characteristics of human information-processing. Implications of the findings for AIDS education are discussed.

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“…There is sigini® cant information on the accuracy of knowledge of HIV/AIDS-related safe and unsafe sexual behaviour within 7 items in studies 17,21 . The test was composed of the 7 items with 4 different levels.…”

Section: Measuring Knowledge About Safe and Unsafe Sexmentioning

confidence: 96%

Employment and contextual impact of safe and unsafe sexual practices for STI and HIV: the situation in China

Wang

Gao

2000

Int J STD AIDS

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China's dual employment system plays a crucial role in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV-related safe and unsafe sexual practices among young Chinese people. Social and psychological determinants of safe and unsafe sexual practices for HIV infection among young people in Sichuan, China were examined. Our findings indicate that changes in China's social structure and employment system impact upon the social contextual involvement and socio-sexual practice of young Chinese people. The findings in the study suggest that the employment-related contextual involvement was a major predictor in the relationships between demography, information, and psychological risk-taking factors on one hand and the people's safe and unsafe sexual practices on the other. Self-employed people (officially called 'getihu') were more likely than the state-employed people to engage in unprotected sex with casual sexual partners. As China undergoes social restructuring and many state-employed people are laid off, the risk may also extend into the broader non-self-employed population as more state-employed people become involved not only in the self-employed getihu's socioeconomic activities but also in their unconventional socio-sexual practices. Collective vulnerability to STI and HIV, due to the current socio-sexual practices of the getihu young people, has created a new frontier for STI and HIV prevention in today's China, as well as demonstrating the importance of collective action with STI and AIDS prevention strategies within relevant social and sub-cultural contexts.

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Gay Men's Knowledge of HIV Transmission and ‘Safe’ Sex: A Question of Accuracy

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

Accounting for unsafe sex: Interviews with men who have sex with men

Accounting for unsafe sex: Interviews with men who have sex with men

Gay men's estimates of the likelihood of HIV transmission in sexual behaviours

Employment and contextual impact of safe and unsafe sexual practices for STI and HIV: the situation in China

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