Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Jun 9, 2021
Date Accepted: Jan 27, 2022
Geosocial networking smartphone application use and high-risk sexual behaviors among MSM attending university in China: a cross-sectional study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Gay applications (gay apps) are smartphone-based geosocial networking (GSN) applications where many men who have sex with men (MSM) socialize and seek sex partners. Existing studies showed that gay app use is associated with greater odds of high-risk sexual behaviors and potentially more HIV infections. However, little is known about this behavior among young MSM.
Objective:
We conducted this study to understand gay app use and its influencing factors among MSM attending university in China.
Methods:
From January to March 2019, participants were recruited from four regions with large populations of college students in China: Chongqing, Guangdong, Shandong, and Tianjin. The eligibility criteria were: MSM aged 16 years or older, self-identified as a university student, and HIV-negative. A self-administered online structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic information, sexual behaviors, gay app use, substance use, and HIV testing history. We performed multivariable logistic regression to assess correlates of seeking sex partners via gay apps.
Results:
A total of 447 MSM attending university with an average age of 20.4 ± 1.5 years were recruited. Almost all participants (98.2%) reported gay app use ever, and 240 (53.7%) reported ever seeking sex partners via gay apps. Blued (97.5%) was the most popular gay app. Higher proportions of sexual risk behaviors (including seeking sex partners via apps, engaging in group sex, having multiple sex partners, unawareness of sex partners’ HIV status, and using recreational drugs during sex) were positively associated with the increase in the frequency of gay app use (all P < .05). In multivariable analysis, participants who used gay apps to seek sex partners might be more likely to have multiple sex partners in the past 3 months (AOR: 8.78, 95%CI: 3.01-25.59), engage in group sex in the past 3 months (AOR: 3.85, 95%CI: 1.31-11.31), and have sex partners with unknown or positive HIV status (AOR: 3.04, 95% CI:1.52-6.07).
Conclusions:
Seeking sex partners via gay apps may associate with the increased high-risk sexual behaviors among MSM attending university. The causality between seeking sex partners via gay apps and increased high-risk sexual behaviors should be further investigated so as to inform potential policies for HIV prevention.
Citation
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