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Social Anxiety as a Risk Factor for Unprotected Intercourse Among Gay and Bisexual Male Youth

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The current study proposed that social anxiety, which may be elevated among gay and bisexual youth, may increase their risk for unprotected sexual intercourse. Social anxiety predicted increased probability of having engaged in unprotected insertive anal intercourse in the past six months. Further examination suggested that social anxiety continued to be associated with unprotected insertive anal intercourse above and beyond the effects of communication about condom use and social support variables. Findings suggest the need to consider the impact of social fears when designing HIV prevention interventions.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research is part of a dissertation defended by the first author and supervised by the second author while at Temple University. Portions of the data were presented at the thirty-fifth annual convention of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy and the 110th annual convention of the American Psychological Association. The study was supported through the Malyon-Smith Scholarship through Division 44 of the American Psychological Association and the Shipley Award of the Department of Psychology at Temple University. The authors also thank Jerome H. Resnick, James L. Arbuckle, Phillip C. Kendall, Brian P. Marx, and Seth C. Kalichman for serving on the first author's dissertation committee. The authors also acknowledge Ann O'Leary and Gary Marks for their helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript and the staff at the Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University for help with data collection and data entry. In addition, the authors gratefully acknowledge the youth and staff at the community organizations who agreed to participate in the study.

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Correspondence to Trevor A. Hart.

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Hart, T.A., Heimberg, R.G. Social Anxiety as a Risk Factor for Unprotected Intercourse Among Gay and Bisexual Male Youth. AIDS Behav 9, 505–512 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-005-9021-2

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