Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114102

Justin T. Brown, BA, CHEST, CUNY, Hunter College/Graduate Center, 250 W. 26th St., Rm. 300, New York, NY 10001, 212-206-7919, jbr0001@hunter.cuny.edu, David S. Bimbi, MA, Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training, CUNY Hunter College, c/o CHEST 250 West 26th Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10001, José E. Nanín, EdD, CHES, Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training, Hunter College of the City University of New York, 250 West 26th Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10001, and Jeffrey T. Parsons, PhD, Psychology Department, Hunter College of the City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021.

Background: HIV-positive gay/bisexual men have been reporting high-risk behaviors as a way to cope with stress from living with HIV. Club drug use and intentional unprotected anal sex, or barebacking, are among some of those behaviors. Methods: An ethnically diverse sample (54.2% men of color) of 72 HIV-positive men, ages 18 to 65 (M=40.29, SD=10.10) completed self-report surveys at NYC gay-related community events. Results: 24 (33.3%) of the 72 HIV-positive men identified as barebackers. Barebackers and non-barebackers did not differ in race/ethnicity, but barebackers were significantly older (t(63)=9.18, p<0.00). Most barebackers (60%) reported using club drugs within the past 3 months and 66.7% reported use while engaging in sexual activity. Barebackers were significantly more likely to have recently used club drugs (OR=5.1) than non-barebackers and were also significantly more likely to have participated in some form of sexual activity while using club drugs (OR=6.5) than non-barebackers. Barebackers reported more substance use-related coping (F(1,63)=4.09, p<0.05), higher rates of self-blame-related coping (F(1, 63)=7.71, p<0.01), and higher levels of gay-related stress (F(1, 63)=6.28, p<0.05), than did non-barebackers. Conclusion: HIV-positive barebackers are reporting more frequent use of club drugs and more sex behaviors under the influence. Barebackers also report higher stress levels and are more likely to cope with the use of drugs or through self-blame. Providers may need to attend to issues of stress and coping, rather than emphasizing drug use and sex behavior change, as a way to engage these men who may not respond to traditional risk reduction efforts.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to

• Identify the prevalence of recent club drug use among a sample of HIV-positive men in New York City,
• Identify the prevalence of barebacking behaviors among men in the same sample; and
• Discuss the relationship between club drug use, barebacking, and stress and coping among members of this population.

Keywords: Coping, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.