Methamphetamine is a derivative of amphetamine that is often used by GBMSM in sexualized contexts, known colloquially as ‘chemsex’.
The use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), in particular methamphetamine, has become increasingly prevalent among GBMSM. Within communities of GBMSM, young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM) experience a greater burden of HIV risk compared to their older counterparts, which may be attributed to a higher incidence of risky sexual behaviors, sexualized substance use, and barriers to health-seeking behaviors. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) constitute a key population that continues to be disproportionately affected by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) on a global scale. Future interventions should target YMSM who become sexually active at an earlier age to reduce the risks associated with sexualized substance use. Varying measures of social capital such as an earlier age of exposure to sexual networks may predispose YMSM to greater opportunities for sexualized substance use. Participants with a later age of sexual debut were increasingly less likely to be in the poppers (aOR = 0.93, p = 0.039) and chemsex classes (aOR = 0.85, p = 0.018), compared to the alcohol class. Multivariable analyses revealed that participants who were older (aOR = 1.19, p = 0.002) and who identified as gay (aOR = 2.43, p = 0.002) were more likely to be in the poppers class compared to the alcohol class.
Latent class analysis revealed three classes of YMSM based on their histories of sexualized substance use, which we labelled as ‘alcohol’, ‘poppers’, and ‘chemsex’. Latent class analysis was employed to identify classes with similar patterns of sexualized substance use, and multinomial logistic regression was employed to examine associations between class membership and proxy measures of social capital, including age of sexual debut, bonding and bridging social capital, connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and outness. Results of this study were derived from baseline data of the Pink Carpet Y Cohort Study in Singapore, comprising a sample of 570 HIV-negative YMSM aged 18 to 25 years old. This paper attempts to explore the association between measures of social capital and patterns of sexualized substance use among a sample of YMSM in Singapore. Engaging in chemsex established as a major risk factor for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) acquisition, and is thus a public health issue of increasing urgency. Young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (YMSM) are especially vulnerable to the risks associated with sexualized substance use, or ‘chemsex’.