International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 17, Number 4 > Pp. 267-270

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Original research articles

Interpersonal and social network influences on gay men's communication about unprotected sex

Anthony M A Smith, Jeffrey Grierson, David Wain, Marian Pitts and Phillipa Pattison

Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; Department of Psychology, School of Behavioural Science, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

This study documents gay men's communication patterns about unprotected sex. Gay men (n = 206) completed a structured interview about their social networks. The 167 men who had had unprotected sex identified 1390 social relations; 32.6% had involved discussing an episode of unprotected sex. Discussions about unprotected sex were associated with the nature of the relationship, whether the other party was gay or lesbian, how often the parties spent time together, whether the relationship had been sexual, and the density of the other parties' social network. Social networks provide an important context for the maintenance of safe sex cultures.

Key Words: GAY MEN • COMMUNICATION • SEXUALITY • SOCIAL NETWORKS

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