| New human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections remain a global public health concern. Emerging HIV transmission pathways are occurring between Middle Eastern men who have sex with men (MEMSM) to low-prevalence populations (e.g., MEMSM to spouse to offspring). This cross-sectional study investigated Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS) scores (independent variable [IV]) to predict numbers of recent MSM sexual activities (dependent variable [DV]) and SSSS scores (IV) to predict any recent unprotected receptive anal intercourse (URAI) activities (DV) in MEMSM who use the Internet to sex-seek. Guided by the AIDS risk reduction model, this research also investigated the relationship between Stage 1 of the model labeling (IV) and any recent URAI activities (DV), as well as SSSS scores combined with labeling (IVs) and any recent URAI activities (DV). Finally, the research investigated the relationship between SSSS scores (IV) and labeling of URAI risk in HIV transmission (DV). Using multiple regression for analysis with 86 participants, higher SSSS scores predicted higher numbers of recent MSM sexual activities (F (1, 85) = 5.78, p = .018) and URAI activities (F (1, 85) = 5.54, p = .021) in Research Questions (RQ) 1 and 2 respectively. In RQ 3, labeling alone, and combined with SSSS scores in RQ 4, did not predict URAI activities. Finally, higher SSSS scores did not predict labeling failure in RQ 5. The covariates of age and drug/alcohol use were not significant in any analyses. The implications for positive social change include the design of new, Internet-delivered, HIV-prevention programs for MEMSM. Reducing new HIV transmissions from these high-risk persons to low-prevalence populations reduces the disease burden in society, lessens overall healthcare expenditures, and contributes to individual quality of life. |
