Sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay men
Abstract: The aim of this study was to provide current data on the sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of gay and homosexually active men in Sydney. Anonymous, short questionnaires were completed by 1611 gay men recruited at the 1996 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day or at one of si...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
1997-12-01
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| Series: | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-842X.1997.tb01792.x |
| _version_ | 1797709536645087232 |
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| author | Paul van deVen Susan Kippax June Crawford Judy French Garrett Prestage Andrew Grulich John Kaldor Paul Kinder |
| author_facet | Paul van deVen Susan Kippax June Crawford Judy French Garrett Prestage Andrew Grulich John Kaldor Paul Kinder |
| author_sort | Paul van deVen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract: The aim of this study was to provide current data on the sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of gay and homosexually active men in Sydney. Anonymous, short questionnaires were completed by 1611 gay men recruited at the 1996 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day or at one of six venues (including two sexual health centres) across the metropolitan area during the following week. The sample was diverse, but the men tended to be of Anglo–Australian background, well educated, professionally employed, attached to gay community and gay identified. They mainly had sex with other men rather than with men and women. Most (86.0 per cent) had been tested for human immunodeficiency virus. Excluding 241 men recruited in sexual health centres, 11.2 per cent were HIV–positive and 73.4 per cent were negative. Where it occurred in regular relationships, unprotected anal intercourse was usually between seroconcordant partners (78.5 per cent). Unprotected anal intercourse between discordant or noncon–cordant regular partners was much less common, and in about half the cases involved withdrawal prior to ejaculation exclusively rather than ejaculation inside. Almost 12 per cent of the men had at least ‘occasionally’ engaged in unprotected anal intercourse with a casual partner in the previous six months, with approximately half of these men having adopted a withdrawal strategy on every occasion. We conclude that short surveys can provide valuable and timely data on sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of gay and homosexually active men. Key messages for those involved in gay men's education are the high rates of unprotected anal intercourse between casual partners and the extensive practice of withdrawal. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:38:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3e59c7cce1a470e977f278ee7062a95 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1326-0200 1753-6405 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:38:43Z |
| publishDate | 1997-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3e59c7cce1a470e977f278ee7062a952023-09-03T01:10:00ZengElsevierAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health1326-02001753-64051997-12-0121776276610.1111/j.1467-842X.1997.tb01792.xSexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay menPaul van deVen0Susan Kippax1June Crawford2Judy French3Garrett Prestage4Andrew Grulich5John Kaldor6Paul Kinder7National Centre in HIV Social Research, Macquarie University, SydneyNational Centre in HIV Social Research, Macquarie University, SydneyNational Centre in HIV Social Research, Macquarie University, SydneyNational Centre in HIV Social Research, Macquarie University, SydneyNational Centre in HIV Social Research, Macquarie University, Sydney and National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales, SydneyNational Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales, SydneyNational Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of New South Wales, SydneyAIDS Council of New South Wales, SydneyAbstract: The aim of this study was to provide current data on the sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of gay and homosexually active men in Sydney. Anonymous, short questionnaires were completed by 1611 gay men recruited at the 1996 Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day or at one of six venues (including two sexual health centres) across the metropolitan area during the following week. The sample was diverse, but the men tended to be of Anglo–Australian background, well educated, professionally employed, attached to gay community and gay identified. They mainly had sex with other men rather than with men and women. Most (86.0 per cent) had been tested for human immunodeficiency virus. Excluding 241 men recruited in sexual health centres, 11.2 per cent were HIV–positive and 73.4 per cent were negative. Where it occurred in regular relationships, unprotected anal intercourse was usually between seroconcordant partners (78.5 per cent). Unprotected anal intercourse between discordant or noncon–cordant regular partners was much less common, and in about half the cases involved withdrawal prior to ejaculation exclusively rather than ejaculation inside. Almost 12 per cent of the men had at least ‘occasionally’ engaged in unprotected anal intercourse with a casual partner in the previous six months, with approximately half of these men having adopted a withdrawal strategy on every occasion. We conclude that short surveys can provide valuable and timely data on sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of gay and homosexually active men. Key messages for those involved in gay men's education are the high rates of unprotected anal intercourse between casual partners and the extensive practice of withdrawal.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-842X.1997.tb01792.x |
| spellingShingle | Paul van deVen Susan Kippax June Crawford Judy French Garrett Prestage Andrew Grulich John Kaldor Paul Kinder Sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay men Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |
| title | Sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay men |
| title_full | Sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay men |
| title_fullStr | Sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay men |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay men |
| title_short | Sexual practices in a broad cross–sectional sample of Sydney gay men |
| title_sort | sexual practices in a broad cross sectional sample of sydney gay men |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-842X.1997.tb01792.x |
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