Sexual risk behavior and sex under the influence: An event analysis of men in substance abuse treatment who have sex with women.

The objective of this study, which looked at a small subset of participants from the CTN-0018 (“Reducing HIV/STD Risk Behaviors : A Research Study for Men in Drug Abuse Treatment”), was to determine if there is evidence for a causative link between sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol and risky sex for men in substance abuse treatment. Study participants were men in treatment participating CTN-0018’s multisite HIV prevention protocol who reported on baseline, 3, or 6 months the details of their most recent sexual events, and who reported having sexual events under the influence and not under the influence, and who reported most recent events that did and did not include condom use (n=37). Safe sex was not significantly more likely to happen when participants were under the influence of drugs or alcohol during their most recent sexual event (48.3%) than when they were not under the influence (49%). In this high-risk in treatment sample, a causative link between sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol and sexual risk behavior was not supported.

These findings reinforce the hypothesis that sex under the influences needs to be treated primarily as a relapse prevention issue, rather than an HIV/STD prevention issue, as there is little support for an argument that reducing sex under the influence under men in substance abuse treatment leads to a reduction in risky sexual behavior.

Related protocols: CTN-0018