填空题 Among gay men who surf the World Wide Web, over one-third are using cyberspace to look for casual sexual encounters, according to a survey conducted by researchers in the U. K.. And many of these encounters involve acts that put individuals at risk for infection with HIV.
"Access is almost universal and a substantial proportion are using the Internet to meet a sexual partner," noted the study"s lead author Dr. Jonathan Elford. "So the question is: does the Internet represent a new net risk environment?"
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Most of the men were white, well-educated, employed and relatively young. The men were asked about their HIV status, recent sexual histories, and whether they had access to the Internet at home or at work.
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Overall, those surfing the Web said they did so more often to find sex than to look for information concerning safer sex, health services, HIV treatment or testing, or recreational drugs and steroids.
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Among HIV-positive men with internet access, over 45% reported having unprotected anal intercourse at some point in the prior 3 months. Among HIV-negative men with Web access, over one-third reported engaging in unprotected anal intercourse.
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For HIV-negative men, unprotected sex was more likely to take place with casual partners whose HIV status was unknown. HIV-positive men were more likely to engage in unprotected sex with partners who were also HIV positive, perhaps indicating that the Internet is being used as a new resource for making such specific connections.
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Elford told Reuters Health that the Internet—as a relatively new phenomenon—adds a new psychological dimension to the reasoning by which people might consciously choose to engage in risky behavior.
"It"s the nature of the virtual encounter," he said. "When you"re on the Internet you might reinvent yourself as someone who takes greater risks than you actually do. And if you actually go and meet somebody you remain in that role, and you see that through in a sexual encounter."
A. Over 80% of those questioned reported having Internet access, and almost 35% these men said they went online to seek a sexual partner, the majority reporting they did so more than once.
B. The researchers were not able to determine whether the men had engaged in unprotected anal intercourse with a partner they met on or off line. However, Elford and his team noted that seeking sex on the Internet was generally associated with high-risk sexual behavior.
C. Elford and his team, reporting in the current issue of the journal AIDS, note that, ethnicity employment, education, and whether or not any of the men had ever been paid for sex did not play a role in whether or not Internet users sought sexual encounters online.
D. Once you have graduated from a Parlo course, you might consider tapping into the Internet"s extensive menu of international radio stations as a way of keeping your skills current. Search for talk shows, news programs or music in the language of your choice at radio-locator, Radio Tower Com. or other Net radio portals.
E. Studies are looking at whether a similar connection between seeking sex on the Internet and engaging in high-risk behavior also exists among heterosexuals. So far, findings are not available.
F. Between January and February 2000, Elford and his colleagues at the University College Medical School at University College London, UK, surveyed almost 750 HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay men at six gyms in central London.