Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are currently the most at risk population for HIV infection, comprising 47% of all new infections in Canada in 2005. MSM who engage in unprotected anal sex with HIV+ persons are at the greatest risk. Also, MSM have higher rates of social anxiety than their heterosexual counterparts. Previous research has suggested a link between social anxiety and unprotected anal intercourse. This study will seek to replicate a previous study examining the relationship between sexual arousal and intentions to engage in unprotected sex among MSM. This study found that the more sexually aroused a person is, the likelihood of engaging in unprotected sex increases. However, this study did not take into account the role that social anxiety might have in this relationship. The proposed study seeks to replicate and expand on the previous study by introducing social anxiety as an additional variable. It is hypothesized that social anxiety would predict engaging in unprotected sex regardless of sexual arousal level. This research will help support the research on the role of social anxiety in relation to engaging in unprotected sex among MSM. This will provide more evidence to persuade prevention and intervention programs to target socal anxiety as a risk factor for engaging in risky behaviour.