Gay identity and risky sexual behavior related to the AIDS threat

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between risky sexual behavior and issues of gay identity in homosexual men. We identify three main conceptual categories important to gay identity: sexual identity, gay social interaction, and identity development milestones. Each of these categories are analyzed as to their predictive effect on risky sexual behavior related to the threat of HIV, at six-month and eighteen-month intervals. The results suggest that successful integration into a gay network plays a role in reducing risky sexual behavior among homosexual men, regardless of the chronological timing of personal events marking a gay man's “coming out” history.