A waiver of parental consent was granted through Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. 19 Written consent was obtained from all participants. 18 The age range was chosen to examine differences between developmental groups and according to average age of first same-sex experience. The final number was based on informational redundancy, the point at which no additional data was gathered from interviews. Youth, with no history of older partner, were excluded from this analysis. Most (70%) were recruited through snowball sampling ( Table 1). Participants were recruited using snowball sampling, social network Internet advertisements (≥18 years), and from an academic adolescent medicine and young adult clinical practice in a community with high STI/HIV rates and serves low-income patients and families. We recruited seventeen adolescent and young adult men, 16-24 years old, who reported having had sex with an older male partner (>5 years older) to participate in semi-structured qualitative interviews.
17 This work explores the complex relationship between sexual development, culture and interpersonal needs met within older sexual partnerships of YAAMSM by focusing on 1) being attracted to and 2) seeking an older partner. 15, 16Īttraction to a partner is not equivalent to a behavioral pattern of seeking older partners and each process may reveal very different phenomenon. 13, 14 Amongst gay, bisexual, and other men attracted to men, physical features, such as a well-developed upper-body build and youthful appearance, have been described as key components of attractiveness and may vary by relationship type, with individuals narrowing preferences in long-term romantic relationships, while widening preferences when seeking someone solely for sex. 9, 10Īdolescents tend to be attracted to others based on similar social characteristics (homophily) 11, 12 and tend to select romantic partners because of physical attractiveness and body appeal. 7, 8 Young MSM who are displaced when they are stripped of basic familial financial or housing support are more likely to rely on older men with financial resources to survive. 6 Gay and bisexual adolescents of color usually rely on organizations, social events, and the Internet to assist in developing their sexual identity, but in cities with limited community based organizations for young gay and bisexual men of color youth rely on informal role models, such as families or social networks with older men, to learn about cultural norms.
5 Herdt’s work suggests that same-sex sexual development includes attraction and erotic desire for a person of the same gender and cultural identity involving the social, political and economic practices within a cultural group. Cultural contexts relate not only to geographical or physical structures that these men live in but also the emotional and ideological environments where they reside.
2– 4ĭespite potential HIV risk in age discordant partnerships, YAAMSM make seek older partners to fulfill interpersonal or developmental needs and/or because cultural contexts promote age-discordant partnerships. 1 Bridging sexual partnerships between YAAMSM and older aged cohorts, with higher rates of primary HIV infection and prevalence has emerged as an independent risk factor for development of HIV in YAAMSM.
Young African American (AA) men who have sex with men (YAAMSM) 16–24 years of age have experienced the greatest proportional increase in new HIV cases compared to other adolescents and young adults.