Intimate Strangers? Social Networks in HIV-Prevention Groups for Drug Users

Abstract

Group substance abuse treatment relies for its effectiveness on relationships formed within group sessions, but few studies have explored the importance of these relationships for group HIV-prevention interventions for drug users. We surveyed the literature on group HIV-prevention interventions, particularly for men of color, and analyzed qualitative data from a pilot intervention for out-of-treatment, drug-using men who have sex with men. We found that many participants were acquainted prior to the intervention and formed relationships that they attempted (often unsuccessfully) to maintain after the intervention was over.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV
• social networks
• group process
• methamphetamine
• cocaine
• men who have sex with men (MSM)

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Ron Stall for helpful comments, Jason Bird for assistance with interviews, as well as the C-TALK Team: Mark Hartfield, Kurt Mohnung, Ed Negron, Nicole Perez, Yves-Michel Fontaine, and Sandra Tilmon. This research was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R21DA026315).