Latent Class Analysis of Online Platforms for Partner-Seeking and Sexual Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex with Men from Central Kentucky

Vira Pravosud, April M. Ballard, Ian W. Holloway, April M. Young

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Little is known whether engagement in sexual behaviors associated with potential HIV risks differs by subgroups of men who have sex with men (MSM), who are distinct regarding patterns of use of online tools for partner-seeking. Using latent class analysis, we revealed four classes of app-using MSM (n = 181, 18–34 y.o., 82.4% identified as White and non-Hispanic) residing in Central Kentucky: the Grindr/Tinder class; the Poly App Use class of MSM-oriented apps; the General Social Media class, and the Bumble class. Unadjusted penalized logistic regressions showed associations of the Poly App Use class with increased numbers of receptive anal sex partners and reporting condomless receptive anal sex. Adjusting for other covariates, poly app users versus others were more likely to be older (25–34 vs. 18–24, AOR = 3.81, 95%CI = 1.70–9.03), to report past six-month illicit drug use (AOR = 2.93, 95%CI = 1.25–7.43) and to have ever used pre-exposure prophylaxis (AOR = 2.79, 95%CI = 1.10–7.12). Poly app users had behavior profiles associated with an elevated HIV risk and also reported HIV-related protective behaviors likely indicating increased risk awareness among this class. Our findings warrant differentiation of behavior profiles by patterns of app use and suggest not to generalize sexual behaviors associated with potential HIV risks to all app-using MSM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1015-1028
Number of pages14
JournalAIDS and Behavior
Volume28
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023.

Keywords

  • App use classes
  • Geosocial networking applications
  • HIV prevention
  • Latent class analysis (LCA)
  • Men who have sex with men (MSM)
  • Sexual behaviors associated with potential HIV risks

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Infectious Diseases

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