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Longitudinal Association of HIV Conspiracy Beliefs with Sexual Risk Among Black Males Living with HIV

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Abstract

Research is needed to identify culturally relevant factors that may contribute to sexual risk among African Americans. We investigated HIV-specific medical mistrust as one such cultural factor, often exhibited as conspiracy beliefs about HIV (e.g., “AIDS was produced in a government laboratory”), which may be indicative of general suspicion of HIV treatment and prevention messages. Over a 6-month time-period, we measured endorsement of HIV conspiracy beliefs three times and frequency of condom use monthly among 181 HIV-positive African American males. A hierarchical multivariate repeated-measures logistic random effects model indicated that greater belief in HIV conspiracies was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting unprotected intercourse across all time-points. An average of 54% of participants who endorsed conspiracies reported unprotected intercourse, versus 39% who did not endorse conspiracies. Secondary prevention interventions may need to address medical mistrust as a contributor to sexual risk among African Americans living with HIV.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by R01 MH72351 from the National Institute of Mental Health. We would like to thank Charisma Acey, Denedria Banks, E. Michael Speltie, Laurel Sticklor, and Kellii Trombacco for their assistance, Charles Hilliard, PhD, and the staff and clients of SPECTRUM at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, as well as AIDS Project Los Angeles, Minority AIDS Project, and OASIS, for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston & Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, 21 Autumn Street (Room 220.4), Boston, MA, USA

    Laura M. Bogart & David J. Klein

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Frank H. Galvan

  3. Health Unit, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA

    Glenn J. Wagner

Authors
  1. Laura M. Bogart
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  2. Frank H. Galvan
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  3. Glenn J. Wagner
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  4. David J. Klein
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Correspondence to Laura M. Bogart.

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Bogart, L.M., Galvan, F.H., Wagner, G.J. et al. Longitudinal Association of HIV Conspiracy Beliefs with Sexual Risk Among Black Males Living with HIV. AIDS Behav 15, 1180–1186 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9796-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-010-9796-7

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