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Neighborhood-Level Correlates of Consistent Condom Use among Men Who have Sex with Men: A Multi-Level Analysis

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Abstract

There is growing evidence that the neighborhood environment influences sexual behavior and related outcomes, but little work has focused specifically on men who have sex with men (MSM). Using interview data from a probability sample of 385 young MSM living in New York City, recruited at public venues in 1999 and 2000 as part of the Young Men’s Survey-New York City, and data on neighborhood characteristics obtained from the U.S. Census 2000, we conducted multi-level analyses of the associations between neighborhood-level characteristics and consistent condom use during anal intercourse, while controlling for individual-level sociodemographic and other factors. After adjusting for individual-level factors, neighborhood-level gay presence remained significantly and positively associated with consistent condom use during anal intercourse. This finding suggests that neighborhoods with a significant gay presence may have norms that act to discourage high risk sexual activity.

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Acknowledgments

At the time of this work, Dr. Frye was a Research Investigator at the New York Academy of Medicine, Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies. Informed consent was obtained from all participants and human experimentation guidelines of the US Department of Health and Human Services and of the authors’ institutions were followed in the conduct of this study. This research was supported by a contract to the New York Blood Center from the New York City Department of Health (contract no. 97AR15201ROA01) and by a cooperative agreement between the New York City Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (062/CCU206208-07), and by a career development award (DA-020774) to Dr. Frye from the National Institute of Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urban Public Health Program, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, USA

    Victoria Frye

  2. Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention, New York Blood Center, New York, NY, USA

    Beryl Koblin

  3. Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, USA

    John Chin

  4. Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    John Beard, Shannon Blaney & David Vlahov

  5. Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Perry Halkitis

  6. Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sandro Galea

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  1. Victoria Frye
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  2. Beryl Koblin
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Correspondence to Victoria Frye.

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Frye, V., Koblin, B., Chin, J. et al. Neighborhood-Level Correlates of Consistent Condom Use among Men Who have Sex with Men: A Multi-Level Analysis. AIDS Behav 14, 974–985 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-008-9438-5

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