Civic Participation and Risky Sexual Behavior Among Urban U.S. Men Who Have Sex with Men

Drawing on the social capital literature, we hypothesized that civic engagement, as measured by participation in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-related community activities, would be an important protective factor with respect to sexual risk behavior. Accordingly, we examined the association between participation and three measures of risky sexual behavior in a group of men who have sex with men (MSM) who were part of the four-city, 1996-1998 Urban Men's Health Study. In these analyses, we used the subsample of adult MSM who reported same-gender sex in the past year and were not HIV positive (N = 1857). Compared to those reporting no civic participation, those with the lowest and highest levels of participation were no more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, but those with the second highest level had an increased likelihood of risky sexual behavior. Abstention from drugs, having a male primary partner, higher income, a college degree, and being older than 29 years of age all reduced the odds of risky sexual behavior among MSM.