Sexual risk among men who have sex with men with online sex partners in New York City

Increasingly the Internet has been used by men who have sex with men (MSM) to facilitate social and sexual relationships. Finding from studies investigating the relationship between sexual risk and MSM who meet sex partners on the Internet in either venue-based (offline) and Internet-based (online) settings have been mixed. In an effort to contribute to the knowledge base on this topic, this study analyzed data from two samples of MSM recruited in New York City: Web-based HIV Behavioral Surveillance (WHBS) and National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS). The relationship between sexual risk behaviors including unprotected anal intercourse (UAI), drug use, number of sexual partners, use of performance enhancing drugs (also known as erectile dysfunction drugs or PDE5 inhibitors), and group sex participation and mode of sex partner recruitment are examined. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis were used to examine the research questions and hypothesis.