Journal of Urban Health Vol. 75; No. 6: P. 1063-1075 (12..11)
Little is known about sex party behaviors in young men who
have sex with men, often defined as the 13- to 29-year-age-
range. "The current analysis examines sex party attendance and
behavior in a sample of 540 emergent adult gay, bisexual, and
other YMSM in New York City, ages 18-29 years," the authors
wrote.
Among respondents, 47 YMSM (8.7 percent) had attended a sex
party three months prior to assessment. Attendees reported
that parties included both HIV-positive and �negative men;
they also reported unprotected sex and limited access to
condoms and lubricant.
Compared with those who did not attend sex parties, those who
did reported significantly more lifetime and recent (last
three months) casual sex partners, drug use (both in number of
different drugs used and total lifetime use), psychosocial
burden (history of partner violence and number of arrests),
and total syndemic burden (a composite of unprotected anal
sex, drug use, and psychosocial burden).
"These results indicate that while only a small percentage of
the overall sample attended sex parties, the intersection of
both individual risk factors coupled with risk factors
engendered within the sex party environment itself has the
potential to be a catalyst in the proliferation of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic in urban settings," concluded the authors.
"Lastly, given that sex parties are different than other sex
environments, commercial and public, with regard to how they
are accessed, public health strategies may need to become more
tailored in order to reach this potentially highly risky
group."