Virtual Sex: Real Risk Reduction for MSM

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): With a second wave of sexual risk taking (i.e., unprotected anal sex) among MSM (CDC, 1999a, 1999b), especially those who are young (18-30) and men of color, it is clear that new approaches to HIV prevention--that build on past HIV prevention and persuasion research--are needed. Emerging technologies, such as interactive video (IAV) on DVD, delivered in a hip' manner may gain or recapture the attention of MSM who have tuned out more traditional PSAs, brochures, and interventions. New longitudinal experimental research by our team (Read et al., 2002) demonstrates that white men exposed to an IAV (with white actors) that incorporated behavior change elements (e.g., self-efficacy, skills, behavioral intention) showed dramatically higher rates of safer sex behavior than white men given counseling alone. In the current research, through a series of interviews, pilot studies, and one large experimental longitudinal study, we seek to achieve the following goals: (1) Replicate and extend that earlier work to two additional populations of MSM (African Americans and Latinos) and develop a template for the development of effective HIV prevention IAV for targeted audiences, tailored to the specific choices of the user to maximize HIV prevention efforts. Such a template could afford rapid technology transfer of effective behavioral interventions to individuals and clinics, locally, nationally, and globally, (2) assess the role of IAV in increasing condom use by comparing IAV alone to a no counseling control, to HIV prevention counseling alone, and to counseling plus IAV, (3) assess whether IAV is effective in reducing HIV risk because of its interactivity (feedback to and choice for the user). We will manipulate interactivity by comparing the conditions in 2 above to a "yoked" condition in which participants passively receive the video stream of a participant in the interactive condition. (4) Assess the psychological factors that mediate and moderate the impact of the IAV on changes in condom use over time.