Abstract #3724  -  Ways of participating in sex parties where Slam is practiced, among barebacker Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), according to Net Gay baromètre (NGB) 2013
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Prof ALAIN LEOBON - CNRS - UMR Espaces et Société
Additional Authors:  Prof Joanne Otis, Mr Yannick Chicoine Brathwaite, Mrs Amelie McFadyen ,
Aim: The last edition of NGB, a biennial study on the social and sexual uses of the Internet among MSM in France, addressed the participation to ?Slam parties?, which here refers to sex parties usually associated with bareback sex culture and drug injection. In an exploratory approach, we seek to describe the different ways of participating in these Slam parties.
Method / Issue: Since December 2012, over 14 000 men were recruited on multiple gay dating websites, Facebook, google networks, and gay online magazines. Among the respondents, 3379 MSM reporting drug use and having practiced barebacking with occasional partners had access to two questions about ?Slam?: one placed in the bareback section and the other in the drug consumption section. Three groups were created from this sample: a reference group of 3115 respondents reporting their bareback practice and their substance use elsewhere than in the context of Slam parties (group A), a group of 116 respondents reporting barebacking during Slam parties, without consuming (group B), and a group of 148 respondents reporting both barebacking and substance use during Slam parties (group C). To compare these groups, univariate then multivariate polytomous logistic regression analyses were performed. All analyses were adjusted according to socio-demographic characteristics.
Results / Comments: Univariate analyses show that group C matches on several variables the usual description of Slam (eg. : needle sharing, more intense use of cathinone and other substances), which seems to be less the case for group B. Multivariate analyses show that groups B and C differ on several different variables from group A. Compared to group A, respondents from group B are more likely to: report regular unprotected anal sex with occasional partners (AOR: 4.13, 95% CI 1.14-14.98), report barebacking regularly with occasional serodifferent partners (AOR: 2.23, 95% CI 1.13-4.41), report MDMA use (AOR: 2.32, 95% CI 1.04-5.16), report sensation-seeking (AOR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.09-3.99), be HIV-positive (AOR: 2.69, 95% CI 1.26-5.74). Conversely, they are less likely to report barebacking regularly with occasional seroconvergent partners (AOR: 0.22, 95% CI 0.10-0.49). Again compared to group A, respondents from group C are more likely to: report university studies (AOR: 2.96, 95% CI 1.55-5.68), be foreign-born (AOR: 1.56, 95% CI 1.04-2.34 ), be HCV-positive (AOR: 3.58, 95% CI 1.89-6.76), consume cocaine (AOR: 1.99, 95% CI 1.02-3.90) and GHB/GBL (AOR: 2.18 95% CI 1.14-4.17), report substance use during paid sexual relationships (AOR: 3.48, 95% CI 1.21-10.00), and report the simultaneous use of several substances (AOR: 3.23, 95% CI 1.71-6.11).
Discussion: Both group B and C have distinct patterns and results suggest that MSM attending Slam parties are not a homogenous population. Slam parties remain a marginal aspect of bareback sex culture and seem to attract participants of whom the majority does not inject drugs. Future prevention should adapt intervention strategies for risk reduction to a mixed audience shared between sexual motives and substance consumption.
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