Kensington Research Institute, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
Am J Mens Health. 2011 Nov;5(6):466-76. doi: 10.1177/1557988311398472. Epub 2011 Mar 15.
This study examines the value of using syndemics theory as a model for understanding HIV risk taking in a population of men who are at great risk for acquiring and/or transmitting HIV. The principal aim is to provide an empirical test of the applicability of the theory to sexual risk behaviors in this particular research population. The study was based on a national random sample of 332 men who have sex with men, or MSM, who use the Internet to seek men with whom they can engage in unprotected sex. Data collection was conducted via telephone interviews between January 2008 and May 2009. As hypothesized in the syndemics theory model, attitudes toward condom use were central to understanding men's involvement in risky sex. As hypothesized, these attitudes depended on various demographic, psychological/psychosocial functioning, and sex-related preference measures. Also as hypothesized, psychological and psychosocial functioning were found to be very important to the overall model, and as expected, these factors were shaped greatly by factors such as demographic characteristics and childhood maltreatment experiences. The structural equation assessing the fit of the overall model indicated solid support for the syndemics theory approach. Overall, syndemics theory seems to apply fairly well to understanding the complexity of the factors that underlie men's risk-taking practices. The complicated interplay among factors such as attitudes toward condom use, childhood maltreatment experiences, psychological and psychosocial functioning, and substance use and abuse-all of which are central to a syndemics theory approach to studying risk-was demonstrated.
本研究考察了将综合征理论作为理解高危男性群体中 HIV 风险行为的模型的价值。该理论旨在为该特定研究人群的性风险行为提供对该理论适用性的实证检验。该研究基于全国范围内随机抽取的 332 名男男性接触者 (MSM) ,他们使用互联网寻找可以进行无保护性行为的男性。数据收集于 2008 年 1 月至 2009 年 5 月期间通过电话访谈进行。正如综合征理论模型所假设的那样,对避孕套使用的态度是理解男性参与危险性行为的核心。正如假设的那样,这些态度取决于各种人口统计学、心理/心理社会功能以及与性相关的偏好措施。同样如假设的那样,心理和心理社会功能对整个模型非常重要,并且如预期的那样,这些因素受到人口统计学特征和童年期虐待经历等因素的极大影响。评估总体模型拟合度的结构方程表明,综合征理论方法得到了很好的支持。总体而言,综合征理论似乎很好地适用于理解构成男性冒险行为基础的因素的复杂性。研究风险的综合征理论方法的核心因素,如避孕套使用态度、童年期虐待经历、心理和心理社会功能以及物质使用和滥用之间的复杂相互作用,都得到了证明。