Gay bisexual men club drug unsafe sex

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METHODS: This cross-sectional study employed the targeted sampling and ethnographic mapping approaches via face-to-face interviews conducted at bars and electronic music festivals using an adapted, semi-structured version of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs questionnaire.

Of the total sample, Club drug use has dramatically increased over the last two decades in both developed and developing countries 1. However, over the past few years, the use of club drugs has expanded beyond the club scene, where it is still popular, and can now be found in different environments, sex as on college campuses and at house parties.

This group of substances typically has drug effects, including euphoria, dehydration, increased energy and sensitivity to interpersonal connectedness, greater sexual arousal, and increased cognitive impairment 3 - 5. The combination of impaired cognitive functioning, such sex poor decision-making and diminished judgment, and increased sexual arousal is particularly problematic, as it induces sexual risk behaviors 6 - Specifically, previous studies have highlighted a higher prevalence of inconsistent condom use and multiple sexual partners among club drug users compared with the general population 12 - Despite the bisexual number of studies reporting an association between drug use and sexual risk behaviors, only a few authors have specifically examined the association between gay behaviors and club drug use; the first such article was published in A recent meta-analysis conducted by Hittner and Schachne 18 showed that, between andonly 14 studies assessed the association bisexual ecstasy use and sexual risk behaviors; of these, 12 are American, one is Australian, and one is Chinese Given the increased incidence of and problems associated with ecstasy use 15and considering the well-documented connection between substance use and sexual risk behaviors, the need has emerged to better understand the association between these two phenomena.

In particular, the fact that most of the available studies have been conducted in the United States and Europe underscores the need to investigate the topic in developing countries. South America has higher prevalence rates of engagement in anal sex compared with other regions. An online survey conducted in Brazil by Almeida et al.

Men to data obtained from the Brazilian Ministry of Health 22HIV infection is already considered an epidemic in southern Brazil; the number of people with HIV in the southernmost state capital, Porto Alegre, is twice as high as the national average. Some of the reasons suggested to explain this difference include a higher rate of drug use men engagement in unprotected sex Thus, a better understanding of the factors determining such behaviors could aid in the development of more effective prevention strategies, with unsafe significant outcomes.

The aim of this study was to identify the factors potentially club with unprotected sex demographic characteristics, psychiatric symptoms, substance use patterns, and sexual risk behaviors over a month period in a sample of young club drug users. This study is part of a larger naturalistic project that recruited club-goers from Porto Alegre, a state capital and large club area in southern Brazil.

The participants were recruited from March to July using targeted sampling and ethnographic mapping. These potential participants were approached by the project staff and invited to participate in the study. Initial face-to-face interviews lasting an average of 15 minutes were conducted in loco to assess inclusion criteria.

Interviewees who met all criteria were invited to participate in a more detailed interview and other data collection procedures. At the end of the interview, the participants received a lunch voucher as compensation for their participation. Interviewed club drug users who reported having had unprotected sex were compared with club drug users with no episodes of unprotected sex in the 12 months prior to the interview with respect to demographic characteristics, psychiatric symptoms, substance use patterns, and sexual risk behaviors.

Unprotected sex was defined as at least one episode of sexual intercourse without the use of a protective device, oral barrier, or other barrier protection against infection or pregnancy. All participants signed an gay consent form prior to their inclusion in the study. To identify eligible participants, unsafe brief screening form was developed based on previous studies conducted in the U.

Subsequently, the primary data collection instrument used for selected individuals was a questionnaire that was based on an abbreviated version of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs GAIN instrument The original instrument has been used in both adolescents and adults in a variety of settings and has been the main clinical and research measure adopted in many NIDA-funded multicenter drugs.