Thornton Robert
a Department of Anthropology , University of the Witwatersrand , Private Bag 3 , Wits , 2050 , Johannesburg , South Africa.
Afr J AIDS Res. 2009 Dec;8(4):413-21. doi: 10.2989/AJAR.2009.8.4.5.1042.
Multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships (MCP) are prevalent in southern Africa and have been identified as a primary cause of high HIV prevalence in this region. Sexual liaisons with multiple partners serve to increase the size and diversity of an individual's sexual-and social-network and therefore to increase their social capital. This maximisation of social capital may minimise the risk to relationship(s) at the cost of maximising the biological risk of HIV infection. Many sexually active individuals appear to neglect their biological risk of HIV infection in order to maximise their 'social capital.' This would seem to be irrational from the perspective of any individual actor, but on a larger social scale, this may give individuals better access to some social and economic goods. The article argues that people who are in unstable and less-connected parts of the sexual network are those most active in building their sexual networks, even where they are not especially promiscuous. However, such strategies may increase exposure to HIV infection in particular populations, such as intravenous drug users, sex workers, and men having sex with men, as well as in the general population of heterosexual southern Africans. What these high HIV-prevalence populations have in common is their participation in sexual-social networks in which individuals try to maximise their social capital by extending the diversity and density of their sexual networks. The discussion shifts analytic attention away from the notion of higher-risk sexual practices of individuals towards consideration for the structure and dynamics of social and sexual networks at a societal level.
多重及同时存在的性伴侣关系（MCP）在非洲南部很普遍，并且已被认定为该地区艾滋病病毒高感染率的主要原因。与多个性伴侣发生性关系会扩大个人性网络和社交网络的规模并增加其多样性，从而增加其社会资本。这种社会资本的最大化可能会将关系风险降至最低，但代价是将感染艾滋病病毒的生物学风险最大化。许多性活跃的人似乎为了最大化其“社会资本”而忽视了感染艾滋病病毒的生物学风险。从任何个体行为者的角度来看，这似乎都是不理性的，但在更大的社会层面上，这可能会让个人更好地获取某些社会和经济资源。文章认为，处于性网络不稳定且联系较少部分的人是构建其性网络最积极的人，即使他们并非特别滥交。然而，这种策略可能会增加特定人群感染艾滋病病毒的风险，比如静脉吸毒者、性工作者和男同性恋者，以及非洲南部异性恋普通人群。这些艾滋病病毒高感染率人群的共同点在于他们参与了性社交网络，在这些网络中，个体试图通过扩大其性网络的多样性和密度来最大化自己的社会资本。讨论将分析关注点从个体的高风险性行为概念转移到对社会层面社会和性网络的结构及动态的考量上。
