Media Influence on Risk Behavior in MSM

描述(申请人提供)：露骨的性媒体是同性恋社区的重要组成部分，并被认为直接影响男性获得性知识的方式。自从互联网出现以来，男男性行为者(MSM)一直在从事网上性行为，包括消费MSM特定的露骨在线媒体(SEOM)。男男性接触者特定的SEOM行业有了显着的增长，在MSM特定的SEOM中无保护的性行为有所增加。这引发了人们对SEOM消费者中可能鼓励危险性行为的担忧。尽管存在这些担忧，但据申请人所知，目前还没有关于MSM中SEOM消费或SEOM消费与MSM中艾滋病毒风险承担之间关系的研究。这一领域的研究具有巨大的潜力，可以利用MSM特有的SEOM作为一种快速和廉价地向广大高危MSM受众传播艾滋病毒预防信息的手段。由于这一领域的研究还处于初级阶段，在制定一个更大的研究计划时，需要对SEOM和性行为之间的测量和关联进行形成性研究。为了解决这些形成性需求，申请人提出了一项混合方法研究。具体来说，将通过对MSM特定SEOM网站的广泛在线研究和对在线寻找伴侣的MSM(N=15)的深入定性访谈来起草针对MSM的SEOM措施，通过对同一组MSM(N=15)的认知访谈以及额外的在线寻找伴侣的MSM(N=15)样本进行测试，并通过在线预测试与在线寻找伴侣的MSM(N=100)的样本进行最终确定。使用这种SEOM测量方法，对在线寻找伴侣的MSM(N=1,100)进行横断面在线调查，将检查SEOM暴露与MSM性行为之间的关系。这位申请者是美国排名第一的临床心理学项目的尖子生，拥有流行病学公共卫生硕士学位，并在MSM特定的艾滋病毒预防研究方面拥有丰富的经验，她已经组建了一个非常适合支持她实现奖学金目标的研究团队。这一博士后奖学金将是她发展系统研究计划的第一步，最终将导致创新的在线艾滋病毒预防干预，并将为她担任博士后研究职位奠定良好的基础。 与公共卫生相关：由于MSM的IV感染率仍然是美国最高的，因此仍然迫切需要针对他们的创新艾滋病毒预防方法。大量露骨的在线媒体瞄准了MSM，并可能提供一种快速、廉价的方式，向广泛的高危MSM受众传播更安全的性行为信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sexually explicit media is a prominent part of the gay community and has been hypothesized to directly impact the way men learn about sex. Since the advent of the Internet, men who have sex with men (MSM) have engaged in online sex-seeking behaviors, including consumption of MSM-specific sexually explicit online media (SEOM). There has been remarkable growth in the MSM-specific SEOM industry and a rise in unprotected sex in MSM-specific SEOM. This has raised concerns about the potential for encouragement of risky sex among SEOM consumers. Despite these concerns, to the applicant's knowledge there has been no research examining SEOM consumption in MSM or associations between SEOM consumption and HIV risk- taking in MSM. Research in this area has tremendous potential to harness MSM-specific SEOM as a means of quickly and inexpensively disseminating HIV prevention messages to a wide audience of at-risk MSM. As research in this area is in its infancy, formative research on measurement and associations between SEOM and sexual behaviors is needed in the development of a much larger program of research. To address these formative needs, the applicant proposes a mixed-methods study. Specifically, a MSM-specific SEOM measure will be drafted using extensive online research of MSM-specific SEOM websites and in- depth qualitative interviews with online partner-seeking MSM (N=15), tested via cognitive interviews with the same group of MSM (N=15) as well as an additional sample of online partner-seeking MSM (N=15), and finalized via online pre-testing with a sample of online partner-seeking MSM (N=100). Using this SEOM measure, a cross-sectional online survey of online partner-seeking MSM (N=1,100) will examine associations between SEOM exposure and sexual behaviors in MSM. The applicant, a top clinical psychology student at the #1 program in the US with an MPH in epidemiology and extensive experience in MSM-specific HIV prevention research, has assembled a research team that is well suited to support her in achieving her fellowship goals. This predoctoral fellowship will be her first step in the development of systematic program of research ultimately leading to an innovative online HIV prevention intervention and will situate her well for a postdoctoral research position. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: As MSM continue to have the highest rates of IV infection in the US, there continues to be an urgent need for innovative HIV prevention methods directed toward them. A large industry of sexually explicit online media targets MSM and could provide a quick, inexpensive way to disseminate safer-sex messages to a wide audience of at-risk MSM.