Publications by authors named "Jeffrey Parsons"

This report assesses smoking rates and support for indoor smoking bans among club-going young adults in New York City. Nearly half of the sample were smokers. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual young adults were more likely to smoke than were heterosexual participants.

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Objective: This study investigates HIV positive adolescents' health literacy and whether factors associated with health literacy in HIV-positive adults are associated with health literacy among HIV-positive adolescents.

Methods: Adolescents in this study were behaviorally and perinatally HIV-infected youth (n=186) from five U.S.

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This randomized clinical trial (N = 253) evaluated the efficacy of a theory-based intervention designed to reduce both alcohol use and incidence of unprotected sexual behaviors among HIV-positive men who have sex with men with alcohol use disorders. An integrated, manualized intervention, using both individual counseling and peer group education/support, was compared with a control condition in which participants received resource referrals. The intervention was based on the transtheoretical model's stages and processes of change, and motivational interviewing was used to enhance client readiness for change.

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The authors examined the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) on club drug use and risky sex in non-treatment-seeking men who have sex with men (MSM). MSM (N = 150) were assessed and randomly assigned to 4 sessions of MI or an educational control intervention. Follow-up occurred at quarterly intervals for 1 year.

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The Short Inventory of Problems-Alcohol and Drugs (SIP-AD) is a 15-item measure that assesses concurrently negative consequences associated with alcohol and illicit drug use. Current psychometric evaluation has been limited to classical test theory (CTT) statistics, and it has not been validated among non-treatment seeking men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). Methods from Item Response Theory (IRT) can improve upon CTT by providing an in-depth analysis of how each item performs across the underlying latent trait that it is purported to measure.

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To the extent that men who have sex with men (MSM) use the Internet, it serves as a promising medium for behavioral intervention. The present study sought to investigate the efficacy of a web-based skills training and motivational intervention in a randomized trial (N = 112) conducted completely online. After a detailed assessment, MSM were randomly assigned to an online intervention or a control website.

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Rising HIV infection rates have been recently occurring among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) in the United States. As a result, promoting HIV testing among members of this population is now considered a priority among local and federal health officials. A study was conducted to explore concerns about HIV testing among BMSM in New York City.

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The Club Drugs and Health Project was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01-DA014925-02, Jeffrey T. Parsons, Principal Investigator). Christian Grov was supported as a postdoctoral fellow in the Behavioral Sciences training in drug abuse research program sponsored by Public Health Solutions and the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc.

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Objectives: A mediator is a psychosocial construct that is targeted by an intervention to bring about behavior change. Recent literature suggests that a widely used approach for assessing mediation, namely the causal steps method, can be severely statistically underpowered. This article describes three standard methods for assessing mediation: causal steps, difference in coefficients, and product of coefficients.

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Objectives: Ketamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA/ecstasy), cocaine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), methamphetamine, and d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD/acid) have been identified as "club drugs" because of their link to club culture among young adults. Yet little is known about users' demographic differences in the prevalence of club drugs. This study sought to provide a comprehensive profile of users' demographic differences in prevalence of club drug use and dependence.

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"Stop the Sores" (STS), a humor-based syphilis prevention campaign, was implemented in response to increasing syphilis prevalence among gay and bisexual men in Los Angeles County. In 2004, 564 men completed surveys measuring exposure and reactions to the campaign and syphilis testing. Mean age was 39, and men of color comprised a significant proportion of the sample (46.

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This study of 347 urban, self-identified lesbian (n = 289) and bisexual (n = 58) women examined women's engaging in 4 kinky sexual behaviors: bondage/domination, sadomasochism, photo/video exhibitionism, and asphyxiation/breath play. A cross-sectional, brief-intercept survey was administered at 2 New York City gay, lesbian, and bisexual community events. Over 40% reported engaging in at least 1 of these behaviors, and 25% reported engaging in multiple behaviors.

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Within the existing body of research, the information pertaining to sexual compulsivity (SC) among women, both homo- and heterosexual, remains rather limited in comparison to men. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SC in a community sample of gay and bisexual men and lesbian and bisexual women and to identify differences in sexual practices based on classification as sexually compulsive within gender. Supporting previous research, the findings indicated that gay and bisexual men were significantly higher in SC when compared to lesbian and bisexual women.

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Larger penis size has been equated with a symbol of power, stamina, masculinity, and social status. Yet, there has been little research among men who have sex with men assessing the association between penis size and social-sexual health. Survey data from a diverse sample of 1,065 men who have sex with men were used to explore the association between perceived penis size and a variety of psychosocial outcomes.

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Background/objectives: Club drug users have been shown to tend towards patterns of polydrug use, which has been linked to adverse health outcomes, such as impaired mental health, overdose, dependence, infectious disease exposure, and decreased cognitive functioning.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Club Drugs and Health Project, a study designed to examine the patterns and contexts of club drug use among young adults. Four-hundred recent club drug users were recruited through time-space sampling.

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Fundamental misunderstandings about classification can lead scientists down unproductive or dangerous paths, argue Jeffrey Parsons and Yair Wand.

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This pilot project examined the interaction between partners' serostatus and HIV disclosure-stigma in determining physical and mental health. Participants were 38 sexually active HIV-positive adults. Over 47% of participants reported exclusively seroconcordant partners in the past 30 days.

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Previous studies documenting an association between alcohol use and HIV medication nonadherence, have been unable to distinguish between-persons characteristics from within-person characteristics representing the temporally linked effects of alcohol. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) explored within- and between-person predictors of adherence during the past 14 days, as well as factors that moderate the event-level effects of alcohol consumption among 272 HIV-positive men and women with alcohol problems. On days in which participants drank, they had almost 9 times higher odds of medication nonadherence, with each drink increasing the odds by 20%.

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The sexual behaviors of non-gay identified men who have sex with men and women (MSMW) who do not disclose their same-sex behavior to their female partners (referred to by some as men "on the down low") were examined, including the potential for these men to serve as a "bisexual bridge" for HIV and STD acquisition and transmission. Self-reported sexual behavior data were collected as part of an exploratory study of an ethnically diverse (41% African American, 35% Latino, 22% White, and 2% Asian) sample of 46 non-gay identified, non-disclosing MSMW in New York City. Men reported significantly more male than female sexual partners, but more frequent sex with females.

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Because of its ability to reduce inhibitions and increase sexual drive, an emerging body of research has repeatedly identified crystal methamphetamine as a key variable in explaining new HIV transmissions among men who have sex with men (MSM). The implications of which have included the development of HIV prevention policies and public health campaigns centered on curbing methamphetamine use in urban gay centers throughout the United States. Data collected from a diverse sample of gay and bisexual men attending large-scale gay, lesbian, and bisexual community events in New York City (n=738) indicated that 10.

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Sexual compulsivity and the internet have been investigated separately among gay and bisexual men for their connection to sexual risk behaviour, yet little research has addressed the intersection. This analysis explored qualitative interview data from 111 gay and bisexual men experiencing out of control sexual thoughts and/or behaviours, about the role of the internet in their lives. For some it facilitated their problematic sexual thoughts and behaviours and, to some extent, was a distraction from important facets of their lives.

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Time-space sampling has been used to generate representative samples of both hard-to-reach and location-based populations. Because of its emphasis on multi-tiered randomization (i.e.

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Objective: To assess the efficacy of a behavioral intervention designed to improve HIV medication adherence and reduce alcohol consumption among HIV-positive men and women.

Design: A randomized controlled trial conducted between July 2002 and August 2005.

Setting: A behavioral research center in New York City.

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