The Role of Alcohol Use Norms in Alcohol Use among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Northeastern United States

Ocean, Erik

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Overview

Year:: 2021
Contributor:: Ocean, Erik (creator); Wray, Tyler (Advisor); van den Berg, Jacob (Reader); Brown University. School of Public Health (sponsor)
Genre:: theses
Subject:: Alcohol; HIV; MSM; Sexual minorities
Extent:: 6, 19 p.

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Abstract:: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are at an increased risk of HIV infection in comparison to other men. This risk is exacerbated by heavy alcohol use. Perceived drinking norms play an important role in alcohol use. However, the influence of perceived drinking norms on an individual may vary depending on the reference group these norms reflect, with more distal groups (e.g., all men) potentially exerting less influence on the individuals’ own drinking and more proximal groups (e.g., close friends) exerting more. Little is known about the reference group with which the strongest inferences may be made about alcohol use among MSM. Participants in this study were 237 MSM recruited from the greater Providence, Rhode Island area. Participants were asked to estimate the alcohol use of all men, gay men, and their friends (gender and age were not specified). Descriptive statistics were used to compare norms across the three reference groups. Negative binomial regression was used to explore whether norms were associated with participants’ own drinking patterns. Adjusting for age, racial/ethnic minority status, education, and sexual identity, participants’ perceptions of their closest friends’ drinking level was associated with their own drinking pattern (IRR=1.01, p<.001). This association remained above and beyond their perceptions of drinking norms of other groups (i.e. gay men and men in general). These results have implications for alcohol use interventions among MSM, suggesting that MSM’s closest friend group might be the best reference group to use when giving normative alcohol use feedback.
Notes:: Thesis (M. P. H.)--Brown University, 2021

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Citation

Ocean, Erik, "The Role of Alcohol Use Norms in Alcohol Use among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Northeastern United States" (2021). Public Health Theses and Dissertations. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:vxxmwkut/

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Public Health Theses and Dissertations

Theses and Dissertations for the Public Health department.
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