TOPIC: Prevention & Education
OTHER KEYWORDS: Asians & Pacific Islanders, young Gay and Bisexual Men, Men who have Sex with Men
TITLE: Risk and Protective Factors Affecting Sexual Behavior Among Young Asian and Pacific Islander Men Who Have Sex With Men: Implications for HIV Prevention
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Choi KH, Kumekawa E, Stall, R. Risk and Protective Factors Affecting Sexual Behavior Among Young Asian and Pacific Islander Men Who Have Sex With Men: Implications for HIV Prevention. J of Sex Educ & Therapy. 1999; 24 (1/2): 47.
SUMMARY
This paper describes the detailed summaries of the taped interviews conducted with 40 young API MSM in San Diego and Seattle in 1997-98. Researchers identified 8 factors related to risk sexual behaviors: negative feelings about oneself, being "closeted", trusting a partner in a relationship, wishing to please a partner, passion that overwhelms judgment, being high on alcohol or drugs, sexual attitudes in the gay and Asian communities, family values, over-urging by the family, and wishing to avoid hurting one's parents. The risk and protective factors affecting sexual behavior among young API MSM are organized into five major types: individual, interpersonal, situational, family, and community. This typology of the motivations underlying risky and protective behavior may serve as the conceptual framework of a comprehensive prevention program that aims to modify behavior from different perspectives. Given the complex nature of human behavior, a multitiered intervention would be more likely to succeed than one dimensional or conventional programs targeting only personal attitudes and beliefs related to HIV.