Weakening of safer sex community norms amongst Scottish gay men

Background: Despite widespread changes in patterns of condom use, the contemporary determinants of UAI amongst gay men remain unknown. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 1996, 1999 and 2010 in gay bars in the West of Scotland. Respondents completed self-report measures including norms for safer sex and numbers of UAI partners in the year prior to data collection (N ¼ 3222).
Findings: Scores on the measure of norms for safer sex were significantly lower (i.e., weaker) in 2010 than they had been in either 1996 or 1999 (p5 0.001). Those with 2 UAI partners in the previous year consistently had significantly
lower scores on the safer sex norm scale and this difference remained when adjusted for age and year (p5 0.001). Discussion: These findings are suggestive of the utility of using normative influence in designing interventions to promote sexual health amongst gay men.