Role of Social Media and Mobile Apps in Sexual and Drug Co-Usage Networks of MSM

 描述(由申请人提供)：本提案的主要目标是检查男男性行为者(MSM)在性和药物共同使用网络中的重叠，并通过使用社交网络应用程序(例如Grindr、Sruff等)覆盖有关性关系的信息。确定应用程序使用与网络层面的艾滋病毒危险行为模式之间的关系。许多男男性同性恋者正在使用社交媒体和/或智能手机应用程序(“应用程序”)来结交性伴侣，有证据表明，使用这些应用程序与增加性风险行为和可能的药物使用有关，尽管对后者的研究很少。不幸的是，这一领域的网络研究几乎完全集中在性网络上；因此，人们对MSM性和毒品相关风险网络的相互作用以及移动应用程序的使用如何影响网络结构知之甚少。此外，以前的研究普遍缺乏关于伙伴关系的必要细节，无法确定关系之间的相互联系。最后，绝大多数关于MSM应用程序使用的研究都是在大城市地区进行的，尽管研究表明，在农村和中等城市的MSM中，在线和基于APP的性行为模式相似。考虑到有证据表明，遭受耻辱和孤立的农村男男性接触者经常使用互联网寻找性伴侣，并往返于附近的城市地区与他们见面，知识差距是显着的。这项拟议的研究将在靠近阿巴拉契亚中部农村的南部一座中等城市进行。这项研究是为了应对对居住在大城市地区以外的MSM的APP使用以及药物共同使用和性关系进行更综合的网络层面研究的需要。通过使用姓名生成器和收集有关伴侣的详细人口统计信息，拟议的研究将能够在一个代表所有参与者及其伴侣之间的直接和间接联系的网络结构(即社会计量网络)中推论性关系和毒品共同使用伙伴关系的重叠。该网络将揭示APP使用与毒品和性伙伴关系共同发生之间的关系，并通过整合有关性行为地点的空间数据，将允许检查风险行为、网络结构和空间背景之间的关系。在使用地理目标和网络驱动的方法以及基于应用程序或基于网络的技术相结合的方式确定接触MSM的最佳方式时，识别“高风险”的空间位置和网络结构将至关重要。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overarching goal of this proposal is to examine the overlap in the sexual and drug co-usage networks of men who have sex with men (MSM) and to overlay information about sexual partnerships facilitated by the use of social networking applications (e.g., Grindr, Scruff, etc.) to determine the relationship between app use and network-level patterns of HIV risk behavior. Many MSM are using social media and/or smartphone applications ("apps") to meet sex partners, and evidence suggests that use of these apps is associated with increased sexual risk behavior and possibly drug use, although research on the latter is scarce. Unfortunately, network- based research in this area has focused almost exclusively on sexual networks; thus, little is known about the interaction of MSM sexual- and drug-related risk networks and how network structure is influenced by the use of mobile apps. Moreover, previous studies generally have lacked necessary detail about partnerships to be able to determine the interconnectivity of relationships. Finally, the overwhelming majority of studies on MSM app use have been conducted in large urban areas, despite research indicating that similar patterns of online- and app-based sex-seeking occur among MSM in rural and mid-sized cities. The gap in knowledge is notable considering evidence suggesting that rural MSM experiencing stigma and isolation often use the Internet to find sex partners and travel to/from nearby urban areas to meet them. The proposed study will be conducted in a mid-sized city in the South in close proximity to rural Central Appalachia. The study was developed in response to the need for more integrative network-level research on app use and the drug co-usage and sexual relationships of MSM residing outside of large urban areas. Through the use of a name generator and collection of detailed demographic information about partners, the proposed study will allow inferences to be drawn about overlap in sexual and drug co-usage partnerships in a network structure representing the direct and indirect connections among all participants and their partners (i.e., a sociometric network). The network will reveal the relationship between app use and co-occurrence of drug and sexual partnerships and, through the integration of spatial data on locations of sexual encounters, will permit examination of the relationships among risk behavior, network structure, and spatial context. Identifying "high-risk" spatial locations and network structures will be critical in determining ho best to reach MSM using combined geo-targeted and network- driven approaches as well as app- or web-based technologies.