RELATIONSHIPS AMONG HIV RISK BELIEFS, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIORS IN SEXUALLY ACTIVE, SERONEGATIVE GAY MEN

Safer-sex guidelines established during the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have undergone very little revision despite some controversy Although these guidelines have been widely disseminated in the gay co mmunity, many gay men continue to engage in behaviors that are believe d to put them at high risk for transmission of HIV. This suggests eith er that they have not accepted safer-sex guidelines as accurate or tha t other factors override personal implementation of the guidelines. Th e study examined seronegative gay men's beliefs about the accuracy of safer sex guidelines and the men's participation in behaviors risky fo r transmitting HIV. The greatest disagreement between the men's belief s and behaviors centered on the risk of oral intercourse; this suggest s a need for clarification of the safer sex message about this behavio r. The findings of this study support the need to reformulate safer-se x guidelines. When unprotected oral and anal sex are classified at the same level of risk, those who engage in unprotected oral sex may proc eed to unprotected anal sex with less reservation.