YOUNG GAY MEN AND HIV - RUNNING THE RISK

HIV research often depicts 'adolescents' and 'youth' as having 'unique ' qualities which predispose them to sexual risk. Yet, the evidence po ints to unsafe sexual behaviour as not being socially uniform. At a ti me when the idea of 'risk groups' for HIV is being subjected to increa sing public scrutiny, researchers also need to question assumptions ab out youth 'risk'. This study examines whether young gay men are at gre ater risk for unsafe sexual behaviour than older gay men. A questionna ire was administered to 284 predominately gay identified men in Melbou rne, Australia, recruited from gay groups, health clinics, gay pubs an d nightclubs, sex on premises venues, and the social networks of these men. The results show that, while there was no difference in the leve l of recent unprotected anal intercourse between age groups, young men (under 25 years) from gay commercial venues or who did not belong to a gay organization(s) had a significantly higher level of recent unpro tected anal sex than other young gay men. These results suggest that s exual safety may be more appropriately explained as a social process, rather than a youthful characteristic, and that researchers should inc lude cohort effects into their analyses.