Whats Love Got To Do With It? An Event Level Examination of Sexual Behavior and Love among Men who have Sex with Men

Purpose: MSM continue to be disproportionately impacted by STI and HIV. In addition to traditional risk factors, increasing attention has been given to the potential role of affective components of a sexual encounter including mood state. To date, no study has described sexual behaviors engaged in by those who report being in love (or not) during a given sexual event.

Methods: Internet-based survey data were collected from (N = 24,787) MSM who were members of online websites facilitating social or sexual interactions with other men. Measures included sociodemographics, recent sexual behavior history, sexual event characteristics, and perceptions of “love” with men's most recent male sexual partner.

Results: Participants ranged in age from 18-87 years (mean = 39.2 years) and ethnicities included white (84.6%), Latino (6.4%), and African American (3.6%). Nearly all men (91%) were matched by presence (I love him/he loves me), absence (I don't love him/he doesn't love me), or uncertainty (I don't know if I do/I don't know if he does) of love with their most recent sexual partner. Men who reported love for their partner, and believed their partner loved them, were significantly more likely to have engaged in behaviors including cuddling and kissing on the mouth. Differences were also seen in regard to love and men's reports of anal intercourse (insertive and receptive) and oral sex.

Conclusions: Understanding the extent in which “love” influences various sexual behaviors provides a contextual perspective for clinicians and public health professionals attempting to improve the sexual health of MSM.