Unsafe sex among HIV positive individuals: Cross-sectional and prospective predictors

A follow-up study was conducted on a sample of 120 ethnically diverse HIV positive men and women first interviewed in 2000. Of the 86 survivors, 37 (43%) were able to be contacted 7-8 years later to conduct an exploratory examination of cross-sectional and prospective predictors of unsafe sexual behavior. Predictors that emerged as significant in the two cross-sectional analyses and the prospective analysis tended to be different variables, perhaps underscoring changing needs, perceptions, and behaviors among HIV positive persons over time. The cross-sectional analysis conducted at the baseline time frame showed a considerable number of significant correlates of unsafe sex, including several demographic/background variables. The cross-sectional analysis conducted on data collected 7 years later, on the other hand, showed far fewer significant correlates of unsafe sex, none of which were demographic/background variables, and which tended to be different correlates than those found in the baseline cross-sectional analysis. Significant predictors in the prospective analysis tended to be social support factors. This different pattern of prediction may be important to those designing interventions to influence risky sexual behavior.