LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF RELAPSE FROM AIDS-PREVENTIVE BEHAVIOR AMONG HOMOSEXUAL MEN

There is no viable alternative to the control of AIDS besides preventi on; factors contributing to relapse from behaviors presumed to reduce risk of that disease were investigated. The authors studied 524 homose xual men who had refrained from or used condoms during receptive or in sertive anal sex (RAS and IAS, respectively) for at least 12 months, c ontacting them at 6-month intervals thereafter to ascertain current pr actices. They determined, via interviews, personal traits, appraised s tress of maintaining safer sex, mental health, life events, and effort s to cope with potential infection. Negative life events, personal con trol beliefs, problem-solving abilities, and coping via problem-focuse d (e.g., seeking a monogamous union) rather than emotion-focused (e.g. , ''when I need a cure, they will have one'') behaviors were associate d with RAS, but less so with IAS safer sex behaviors. These findings p rovide a basis for individual and community-level interventions to cha nge behavior and reduce AIDS risk.