The Social Networks of Young Men Who Have Sex with Men: Describing Important Relationships and Their Impact On HIV Risk Behaviors

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have an alarming HIV/AIDS prevalence, as they accounted for 57% of infections in youth in 2005 and increased to 68% in 2008. Despite this high prevalence, few studies focus on this population. Additionally, the majority of HIV research that has been conducted with YMSM has focused on understanding individual-level behavior to inform intervention efforts, without examining network-level data. Preliminary research suggests that utilizing social networks can increase the efficacy of HIV-interventions with older MSM populations. The present study provides formative data on the social networks of YMSM and investigates the protective influences of these networks.

As part of a larger longitudinal study, 450 YMSM (Age range: 16 - 20; Race/ethnicity: 18% White, 60% Black; 11% Latino, 11% other) completed assessments of risk factors of HIV/STIs (e.g., experiences of violence, sexual risk taking, and internalizing mental health problems). Biological assessment of HIV and STIs also occurred. In a subset of 175 of these YMSM, in-depth network interviews were completed. Three types of ego-centric networks were collected from each participant: social support network, substance-using network, and sexual network. Participants were allowed to name up to 40 alters within the interview, then further information was elicited on the type of relationship, frequency of contact and demographic information about alters.

Out of the 175 participants interviewed, the number of important people in their lives ranged from 3 to the study maximum of 40 network members. The mean number of important people reported was 15. While most participants named having at least one friend (1.1% indicated having no friends), 16.6% did not name any immediate family members and 11.4% did not even name extended family members. Preliminary results show that differences in characteristics of these relationships (i.e., strength of relationship, frequency of communication, and sexual orientation of individual) relate to other variables like perceived social support and HIV risk behaviors. Finally, the implications of these results on prevention will be discussed.