Black Men Who Have Sex With Men and the Association of Down-Low Identity With HIV Risk Behavior

摘要

Black men "on the down low" have been considered prime agents of HIV transmission in the Black community despite little empirical evidence. We assessed the relationship between down-low identification and sexual risk outcomes among 1151 Black MSM. Down-low Identification was not associated with unprotected anal or vaginal sex with male or female partners. Future HIV prevention programs and research should target sexual risk behaviors of Black men, irrespective of identity, and not focus on the "down low."The term "on the down low" has been used to describe Black men who identify as heterosexual yet put their female partners at risk for HIV infection by secretly having homosexual sex. Black men on the down low have been implicated in the popular press as prime agents of HIV transmission in the Black community . However, the extent to which the down low is associated with HIV risk behavior has never been quantitatively examined among a large sample of Black men who have sex with men (MSM). We sought to assess whether or not down low identity is associated with greater sexual risk behavior with male or female partners of Black MSM.