Furthermore, studies have shown low rates of disclosure to female partners concerning sexual activity with other men ( CDC, 2003 Kalichman, Roffman, Picciano, & Bolan, 1998 Stokes, McKirnan, Doll, & Burzette, 1996). Prevalence data from two national probability samples indicated that one third of Latino MSM reported sex with both men and women in the last five years ( Binson et al., 1995). Research has suggested that male bisexual behavior is more prevalent among ethnic minorities than Whites ( Chu, Peterman, Doll, Buehler, & Curran, 1992). Sexual contact with a male partner is the most common means of infection for Latinas ( CDC, 2004), and in many cases women are unaware of their partners’ risk behaviors (e.g., injection drug use, multiple partners, sex with men) and HIV status ( Hader, Smith, Moore, & Holmberg, 2001). Latina women also constitute a high risk group, with HIV rates five times those of White non-Hispanic women ( CDC, 2004). ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004). MSM continue to make up a large percentage of those infected, with male same-sex sexual contact as the putative means of infection in 43% of AIDS cases among Latinos in the U.S.
Latino men are at high risk for HIV, with an incidence of AIDS nearly three times that for non-Hispanic White men ( National Center for Health Statistics, 2004).
This article reports an exploratory study that examines the relationships and sexual behavior of such men and uses their Latino male partners as informants. There is very little research on the topic of heterosexually identified men who have sex with men (MSM) in part because this population is typically hidden and motivated to remain anonymous. In fact, almost one tenth of the men who identified as straight in a population-based sample in New York City reported having sexual intercourse with men only in the previous year ( Pathela et al., 2006). Identity, however, is not always consistent with behavior for example, some gay-identified men also have sex with women, and some heterosexually identified men also have sex with men ( Doll et al., 1992 Montgomery, Mokotoff, Gentry, & Blair, 2003 Ross, Essien, Williams, & Fernandez-Esquer, 2003). One aspect of self-concept is sexual orientation identity, which includes, among others, definitions of the self as heterosexual or straight, homosexual or gay, and bisexual. Conceptions of self can have consequences for health in general, and sexual risk in particular ( Courtenay, 2000 Goodyear, Newcomb, & Allison, 2000 Marín, Gómez, Tschann, & Gregorich, 1997).