Do safer sex self-efficacy, attitudes toward condoms, and HIV transmission risk beliefs differ among men who have sex with men, heterosexual men, and women living with HIV?
Widman, L.; Golin, C.E.; Grodensky, C.A.; Suchindran, C.
Aids and Behavior 17(5): 1873-1882
2013
ISSN/ISBN: 1573-3254 PMID: 22252475 DOI: 10.1007/s10461-011-0108-7Document Number: 565903
To understand sexual decision-making processes among people living with HIV, we compared safer sex self-efficacy, condom attitudes, sexual beliefs, and rates of unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with at-risk partners (UAVI-AR) in the past 3 months among 476 people living with HIV: 185 men who have sex with men (MSM), 130 heterosexual men, and 161 heterosexual women. Participants were enrolled in SafeTalk, a randomized, controlled trial of a safer sex intervention. We found 15% of MSM, 9% of heterosexual men, and 12% of heterosexual women engaged in UAVI-AR. Groups did not differ in self-efficacy or sexual attitudes/beliefs. However, the associations between these variables and UAVI-AR varied within groups: greater self-efficacy predicted less UAVI-AR for MSM and women, whereas more positive condom attitudes--but not self-efficacy--predicted less UAVI-AR for heterosexual men. These results suggest HIV prevention programs should tailor materials to different subgroups.