Top

Published in:

01-01-2007 | Original Paper

Prevalence of treatment optimism-related risk behavior and associated factors among men who have sex with men in 11 states, 2000–2001

Authors: Patrick S. Sullivan, Amy J. Drake, Travis H. Sanchez

Published in: AIDS and Behavior | Issue 1/2007

Abstract

Sustainable behavior change among men who have sex with men (MSM) may be threatened by optimistic beliefs about HIV treatments: treatment optimism has been associated with high risk sexual behaviors. We used data from behavioral surveys of MSM attending gay bars in 11 states from 2000–2001 to describe the prevalence and correlates of being less careful with sex or drugs because of treatment optimism (optimism-related risk behavior). Fifteen percent of 1477 HIV-negative or -untested MSM reported optimism-related risk behavior. Optimism-related risk behavior was reported more often by Black and Hispanic MSM (versus white), more often by MSM with a high school education or less (versus college), and less often by MSM in some states. HIV prevention programs should address treatment optimism and related behavioral risks by providing culturally appropriate information, accessible to MSM with lower educational attainment, about the limitations of current therapies.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002). Primary and secondary syphilis among men who have sex with men–New York City, 2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 51, 853–856.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2003). HIV/AIDS Special Surveillance Report, 2003; Vol 1(No. 1):1–27. [Special surveillance report], URL http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats/special-reportVol1No1.htm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004a). HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2003 (Vol. 15). [Surveillance report], URL http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats/hasrlink.htm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004b). HIV Testing Survey, 2001; Special Surveillance Report Number 1:1–28. [Special surveillance report], URL http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats/ special-reportVol2.htm.

Chen, J. L., Kodagoda, D., Lawrence, A. M., & Kerndt, P. R. (2002). Rapid public health interventions in response to an outbreak of syphilis in Los Angeles. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 29, 277–284.PubMedCrossRef

Ciesielski, C. A. (2003). Sexually transmitted diseases in men who have sex with men: An epidemiologic review. Current Infectious Disease Reports, 5, 145–152.PubMedCrossRef

Crepaz, N., Hart, T. A., & Marks, G. (2004). Highly active antiretroviral therapy and sexual risk behavior: a meta-analytic review. Journal of the American Medical Association, 292, 224–236.PubMedCrossRef

Elford, J., Bolding, G., & Sherr, L. (2002). High-risk sexual behaviour increases among London gay men between 1998 and 2001: what is the role of HIV optimism? AIDS, 16, 1537–1544.PubMedCrossRef

Fox, K. K., del Rio, C., Holmes, K. K., Hook, E. W., Judson, F. N., Knapp, J. S., et al. (2001). Gonorrhea in the HIV era: a reversal in trends among men who have sex with men. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 959–964.PubMedCrossRef

Halkitis, P. N., Zade, D. D., Shrem, M., & Marmor, M. (2004). Beliefs about HIV non-infection and risky sexual behavior among MSM. AIDS Education and Prevention, 16, 448–458.PubMedCrossRef

Holmes, W. C. & Pace, J. L. (2002). HIV-seropositive individuals’ optimistic beliefs about prognosis and relation to medication and safe sex adherence. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 17, 677–683.PubMedCrossRef

Huebner, D. M. & Gerend, M. A. (2001). The relation between beliefs about drug treatments for HIV and sexual risk behavior in gay and bisexual men. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 304–312.PubMedCrossRef

Huebner, D. M., Rebchook, G. M., & Kegeles, S. M. (2004). A longitudinal study of the association between treatment optimism and sexual risk behavior in young adult gay and bisexual men. Journal of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 37, 1514–1519.CrossRef

International Collaboration on HIV Optimism. (2003). HIV treatments optimism among gay men: an international perspective. Journal of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 32, 545–550.CrossRef

Kalichman, S. C., Nachimson, D., Cherry, C., & Williams, E. (1998). AIDS treatment advances and behavioral prevention setbacks: preliminary assessment of reduced perceived threat of HIV-AIDS. Health Psychology, 17, 546–550.PubMedCrossRef

Kellerman, S. E., Lehman, J. S., Lansky, A., Stevens, M. R., Hecht, F. M., Bindman, A. B., et al. (2002). HIV testing within at-risk populations in the United States and the reasons for seeking or avoiding HIV testing. Journal of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 31, 202–210.

Kelly, J. A., Hoffman, R. G., Rompa, D., & Gray, M. (1998). Protease inhibitor combination therapies and perceptions of gay men regarding AIDS severity and the need to maintain safer sex. AIDS, 12, F91–F95.PubMedCrossRef

Koblin, B. A., Perdue, T., Ren, L., Thiede, H., Guilin, V., MacKellar, D. A., et al. (2003). Attitudes about combination HIV therapies: the next generation of gay men at risk. Journal of Urban Health, 80, 510–519.PubMed

Morin, S. F., Vernon, K., Harcourt, J. J., Steward, W. T., Volk, J., Riess, T. H., et al. (2003). Why HIV infections have increased among men who have sex with men and what to do about it: findings from California focus groups. AIDS and Behavior, 7, 353–362.PubMedCrossRef

Ostrow, D. E., Fox, K. J., Chmiel, J. S., Silvestre, A., Visscher, B. R., Vanable, P. A., et al. (2002). Attitudes towards highly active antiretroviral therapy are associated with sexual risk taking among HIV-infected and uninfected homosexual men. AIDS, 16, 775–780.PubMedCrossRef

Remien, R. H., Wagner, G., Carballo-Dieguez, A., & Dolezal, C. (1998). Who may be engaging in high-risk sex due to medical treatment advances? AIDS, 12, 1560–1561.PubMedCrossRef

Resnicow, K., Baranowski, T., Ahluwalia, J. S., & Braithwaite, R. L. (1999). Cultural sensitivity in public health: defined and demystified. Ethnicity and Disease, 9, 10–21.PubMed

Sackett, D. L. (1979). Bias in analytic research. Journal of Chronic Disease, 32, 51–63.CrossRef

Stolte, I. G., & Dukers, N. H. (2003). Response to ‘High-risk sexual behaviour increases among London gay men between 1998 and 2001: what is the role of HIV optimism?’. AIDS, 17, 2011–2012.PubMedCrossRef

Stolte, I. G., Dukers, N. H., Geskus, R. B., Coutinho, R. A., & de Wit, J. B. (2004). Homosexual men change to risky sex when perceiving less threat of HIV/AIDS since availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy: a longitudinal study. AIDS, 18, 303–309.PubMedCrossRef

Valdiserri, R. O. (2004). Mapping the roots of HIV/AIDS complacency: implications for program and policy development. AIDS Education and Prevention, 16, 426–439.PubMedCrossRef

Van de Ven, P. V., Prestage, G., French, J., Knox, S., & Kippax, S. (1998). Increase in unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners among Sydney gay men in 1996–98. Australian New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 22, 814–818.CrossRef

Van de Ven, P., Rawstorne, P., Nakamura, T., Crawford, J., & Kippax, S. (2002). HIV treatments optimism is associated with unprotected anal intercourse with regular and with casual partners among Australian gay and homosexually active men. International Journal of STD and AIDS, 13, 181–183.PubMedCrossRef

Vanable, P. A., Ostrow, D. G., & McKirnan, D. J. (2003). Viral load and HIV treatment attitudes as correlates of sexual risk behavior among HIV-positive gay men. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 54, 263–269.PubMedCrossRef

Vanable, P. A., Ostrow, D. G., McKirnan, D. J., Taywaditep, K. J., & Hope, B. A. (2000). Impact of combination therapies on HIV risk perceptions and sexual risk among HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay and bisexual men. Health Psychology, 19, 134–145.PubMedCrossRef

Williams, L. A., Klausner, J. D., Whittington, W. L., Handsfield, H. H., Celum, C., & Holmes, K. K. (1999). Elimination and reintroduction of primary and secondary syphilis. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1093–1097.PubMed

Williamson, L. M., & Hart, G. J. (2004). HIV optimism does not explain increases in high-risk sexual behaviour among gay men in Scotland. AIDS, 18, 834–835.PubMedCrossRef

Wolitski, R. J., Valdiserri, R. O., Denning, P. H., & Levine, W. C. (2001). Are we headed for a resurgence of the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men? American Journal of Public Health, 91, 883–888.PubMed

Title: Prevalence of treatment optimism-related risk behavior and associated factors among men who have sex with men in 11 states, 2000–2001
Authors: Patrick S. Sullivan
Amy J. Drake
Travis H. Sanchez
Publication date: 01-01-2007
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: AIDS and Behavior / Issue 1/2007
Print ISSN: 1090-7165
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3254
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-006-9100-z

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Heart Failure Video

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Prevalence of treatment optimism-related risk behavior and associated factors among men who have sex with men in 11 states, 2000–2001

Abstract

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 1/2007

A Telephone-Based Intervention for Depression in HIV Patients: Negative Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial

Outcomes from a Group Intervention for Coping with HIV/AIDS and Childhood Sexual Abuse: Reductions in Traumatic Stress

Repeat Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT), Sexual Risk Behavior and HIV Incidence in Rakai, Uganda

Impact of Marriage on HIV/AIDS Risk Behaviors Among Impoverished, At-Risk Couples: A Multilevel Latent Variable Approach

Who Benefited from an Efficacious Intervention for Youth Living with HIV: A Moderator Analysis

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Behavioral Interventions to Reduce HIV Risk Behaviors of Hispanics in the United States and Puerto Rico

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page