Patterns of sexual behavior and risk taking among young New York City gay men

One-hundred and seventy-four young New York City gay men (aged 18-24) were studied over a two-year period. We describe patterns of HIV risk taking behavior and factors that predict risk taking. Among men who engaged in receptive anal intercourse we discerned different patterns of behaviors. We defined risk takers as men who engaged in receptive anal intercourse. About two-thirds of the men fall into this category in each year, and about half of those (one third of the total) engaged in unprotected anal intercourse. Most of these men seem to make implicit decisions in managing their risk for HIV. Men who engaged in receptive anal intercourse were more likely to be in a coupled relationship and to know their partners' HIV status. Alcohol and/or drug use during sex, earlier sexual experiences, and greater integration into the gay community were also related to receptive anal intercourse. By contrast, a significant minority of the men, about 6% of the sample, engaged in very high risk behavior in each year of the study-defined as unprotected receptive anal intercourse with multiple partners. It appears that very high risk takers are qualitatively different from other risk takers: They reported more mental health problems, including more drug use, and higher levels of internalized homophobia and AIDS-related traumatic stress response. Implications for AIDS education and prevention are discussed.