194694 Drug Use/Abuse among Men Who Use the Internet Specifically to Find Other Men for Unprotected Sex

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Hugh Klein, PhD , Center for the Study and Prevention of Drug Use, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
Thomas P. Lambing , Center for the Study and Prevention of Drug Use, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
Purpose: Recent evidence has suggested that men who have sex with other men (MSM) seeking high-risk practices turn to the internet to find their sex partners. This paper examines the role that drug use plays when MSM search online for unprotected sex partners.

Methods: The study is based on a nationwide random sample of 260 MSM who use websites specifically to find unprotected sex partners. Data were collected via telephone interviews between January 2008 and January 2009.

Results: 86% of the men reported lifetime illegal drug use, versus 46% in the general adult population. 59% of study participants reported illegal drug use during the previous month, versus 8% in the general population. 58% of MSM studied said that they prefer to have sex while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; 49% said that they prefer having sex while under the influence of illegal drugs. 46% of the MSM interviewed said that they prefer their sex partners to be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs; 34% preferred those partners to be under the influence of an illegal drug.

Conclusions: Both lifetime and recent drug use are prevalent among MSM who use the internet to identify unprotected sex partners. It was common for these men to want to have sex while “under the influence,” and for them to want to have sex with partners who were under the influence as well. Drug abuse prevention and drug treatment both appear to be needed among members of this target population.

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the prevalence of drug use/abuse in a population of MSM who use the internet for unprotected sex. 2. Identify the role that drug use plays when MSM go online to find partners for unprotected sex.

Keywords: Internet, Gay Men

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator of the study, and conducted the research and analyzed the data for this paper.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: LGBT substance use related issues
See more of: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs