Document 0681
 DOCN  M94A0681
 TI    Unsafe sex among gay men: towards a new intervention strategy.
 DT    9412
 AU    Gold R; Rosenthal D; Faculty of Education, Deakin University, Waurn
       Ponds, Vic.
 SO    Annu Conf Australas Soc HIV Med. 1993 Oct 28-30;5:41 (abstract no. TE8).
       Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ASHM5/94348974
 AB    OBJECTIVE. To examine the effectiveness of an intervention strategy
       based on men's justifications for breaking their own safe sex rules.
       METHOD: We report an intervention study in which 109 gay men who had
       slipped up (i.e., broken their safe sex rules by having unprotected
       intercourse) kept diaries of their sexual behaviour for 16 weeks. After
       four weeks they were randomly allocated to one of three conditions, two
       involving very brief interventions--Cognitive (examination of
       self-justifications for having unsafe sex) and Standard (examination of
       posters used in AIDS education)--and a Control (diary only). There were
       two interventions--at 4 and at 8 weeks. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A
       disturbing proportion of the participants continued to have unsafe sex
       over the course of the study. However, results suggest that, compared to
       the Standard group, the Cognitive group believed that the intervention
       was more likely to prevent them from slipping-up and that, in the
       post-intervention period, the Cognitive group was less likely than the
       other two groups to have multiple unsafe sexual encounters. The study
       indicates that using cognitive strategies that require individuals to
       reflect on their thinking may be an effective way to reduce the number
       of gay men who relapse into unsafe sex.
 DE    Adult  Condoms  Homosexuality/*PSYCHOLOGY  Human  HIV
       Infections/*PREVENTION & CONTROL/PSYCHOLOGY/TRANSMISSION  Knowledge,
       Attitudes, Practice  Male  Risk Factors  *Sex Behavior  *Sex Education
       CLINICAL TRIAL  MEETING ABSTRACT  RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).