RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAFE SEX AND ACCULTURATION INTO THE GAY SUBCULTURE

There is some evidence, although conflicting, to suggest that socializ ation or acculturation into the gay community is associated with lower levels of unsafe sex. We attempted to determine the relationship betw een acculturation and sexual safety. We examined data from 282 men (fr om the Dallas AIDS Community Demonstration Project) who had sex with m en and were not in a monogamous relationship to determine the associat ions between safer sex and indices of acculturation. The indices of ac culturation included regular reading of local and national gay newspap ers and magazines, and belonging to an organization for gay men. The d ata indicated that there were significant relationships between accult uration, talking to sexual partners about HIV risk reduction and sexua l identity, and the dependent variable of frequency of condom use for anal sex. A regression equation indicated that 21% of the variance of anal condom use was predicted by these variables. These data suggest t hat acculturation into the gay community is associated with safer sexu al behaviour, and we discuss the implications of these data for using role models and normative beliefs in HIV prevention programmes.