PREVALENCE AND SOCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN - UNITED-STATES AND ITS URBAN CENTERS

Prevalence data on, the social distribution and AIDS-related risk beha vior of men who have sex with men are presented from two national prob ability surveys [General Social Survey (GSS) and National Health and S ocial Life Survey (NHSLS)] and a probability survey of urban centers i n the U.S. [National AIDS Behavioral Surveys (NABS)]. Men residing in large cities, the highly educated, and Whites were more likely to repo rt sex with men. In the urban, sample (NABS), one third reported sex w ith women. In addition, minority men were more likely to report sex wi th men. and women. More than half of the men with an HN risk factor re ported consistent condom use. The surveys were based on two different modes of interviewing (self-administered and telephone), conducted ind ependently of each other and by different organizations. The prevalenc e estimates from these surveys are consistent with each other and with other population-based surveys in the United States and Europe. We di scuss these data in light of the ongoing debate among sex researchers about how to interpret current population estimates of homosexual beha vior compared to estimates reported by Kinsey and his colleagues (1948 and 1953). We discuss some possible sources or explanations for this difference (sampling, reporting, change over time). What we found, tak ing into consideration. conceptual and definitional issues, is that th e difference may not be as large as it at first seems. We also discuss our findings on the social distribution and sexual risk behavior of h omosexual and bisexual men residing in. the major urban centers of the U.S. and implications for strategies needed to combat the AIDS epidem ic.