High risk sexual behavior and alcohol consumption among bar-going gay men

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether alcohol use prior to sexual behavior influenced the occurrence of unprotected anal intercourse among bar-going gay men. METHODS: Anonymous AIDS behavioral risk surveys were administered to men entering gay bars in 16 cities on three nights in February 1993 in six states in the United States. RESULTS: Of the 1519 men who completed the survey, 85% were current alcohol drinkers. Men who had unprotected anal intercourse after consuming alcohol drank more and reported more incidents of unprotected anal intercourse than men who had unprotected anal intercourse but not after drinking. Overall, unprotected anal intercourse occurred less frequently after alcohol consumption than without prior consumption. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that heavy alcohol use and frequent high-risk sexual behavior occurred among the same individuals. However, we found no evidence for a causal link between alcohol use and unprotected sexual behavior in this sample of bar-going gay men.