Young Adult Ecstasy Users and Multiple Sexual Partners: Understanding This HIV Risk Practice.

This research is based on a sample of 283 young adult recurrent users of the drug, Ecstasy (i.e., MDMA). Study participants were recruited in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area between August 2002 and August 2004 using a targeted sampling and ethnographic mapping approach. Street outreach was used to identify and recruit participants, who completed two-hour interviews. The purposes of this paper are to (1) examine the extent to which young adult ecstasy users recently reported having had multiple sex partners and (2) identify the factors predictive of engaging in this HIV risk practice. Potential predictors included a wide array of demographic characteristics, numerous background and experiences measures, childhood maltreatment experiences, substance use/abuse variables, and several measures assessing psychological and psychosocial functioning.Results revealed that nearly one-third of the study participants had had more than one sex partner during the preceding month with sexual protection rates tending to be very low. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed seven predictors associated with an increased likelihood of having had more than one sex partner: (1) being nonCaucasian, (2) knowing someone who was HIV-positive, (3) younger age of first sexual experience, (4) using Ecstasy for its touch-enhancing qualities, (5) higher self-esteem, (6) handling disagreements more dysfunctionally, and (7) not being involved in a romantic relationship. The HIV prevention- and intervention-related implications of these findings are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]