BISEXUALLY ACTIVE MEN - SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR

We describe social characteristics and sexual behavior of young, Black or White bisexually active men (N = 536, 52% Black, M age = 25). Bise xual activity appeared to be relatively stable over time: the recruitm ent criterion was any sex with a man and a woman in the previous three years, yet 60% were bisexually active during the past six months, and 56% began their bisexual activity at least five years prior to the st udy. Compared to Whites, Black respondents were more likely to self-id entify as bisexual, reported more female sex partners, and were less l ikely to have disclosed their bisexual activity to others. Few respond ents participated in the gay community. Rates of unsafe sex were high: 31% reported unprotected anal intercourse with a man in the past six months, with no ethnic differences. Blacks reported more unprotected s ex with women and were more likely to exchange sex for money. Of the m en who had been HIV tested (74%), 10.5% of Blacks and 2.9% of Whites w ere HIV seropositive. The sexual risk of bisexual men was high, yet th eir lack of participation in gay culture made them unlikely to be reac hed by prevention programs within the gay community. Bisexually active Black men may be at greater risk of both acquiring and transmitting H IV because of the higher seroprevalence of HIV in this population, hig her likelihood of unprotected sex with both men and women, and associa ted risk factors, such as exchanging sex for money or drugs.