Chemsex experiences of gay and bisexual men living with HIV Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Stories across two worlds: Chemsex experiences of gay and bisexual men living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
IRAS ID
318295
Contact name
Brendan J Dunlop
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 27 days
Research summary
Chemsex is when people take mephedrone, GHB (γ-hydroxybutyrate), GBL (γ-butyrolactone), and/or crystal meth (crystallised methamphetamine) to make their sexual experiences better. Studies suggest gay and bisexual men are more likely to have chemsex. Men living with HIV are also more likely to have chemsex. Research suggests this is because the drugs help people feel more confident and able to emotionally connect with other people. Men have also described feeling more welcome in groups who have chemsex, compared to on the mainstream gay scene.
So far, all studies have included men who do not have HIV as well as some who do. We want to find out more about what it is like to be a gay or bisexual man living with HIV and having chemsex. We also want to find out what it is like for men who are not sure about having chemsex again.
We will talk to gay and bisexual men individually for 1-2 hours. We will ask them a few standard questions about what it is like to have chemsex and what might make them unsure about having chemsex again. We will ask some extra questions to gather more details about their experiences. We will then look at all the information to see if any of the men describe similar experiences.
We hope the findings of this study will help us to better understand what it is like to have chemsex for gay and bisexual men living with HIV. We also hope to know more about what might make someone not want to have chemsex again or what might make it hard to stop if that is what they want to do. With this information, we can help professionals better support people who have chemsex.
Lay summary of study results: Anonymised interview transcripts were analysed using a methodology called Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Common themes in participant’s experiences were identified and described below. Several interviews highlighted a broader theme of chemsex being both a positive and negative experience, and the importance for professionals to consider both 1) what draws people to chemsex and 2) what is challenging, when trying to understand how best to support people. Overall, our research found that focussing on only the positives or the negatives of chemsex may lead professionals to miss important aspects when trying to understand and support chemsex engagement.
Themes identified:
1) People experience engaging in chemsex as both healing and harmful.
o Chemsex drugs were described as both helping to reduce emotional and psychological distress at times, but also leading to a worsening of mental health at other times
o Chemsex drugs were described as helping people feel freed and empowered to explore sexual experiences they wouldn’t have otherwise. At other times, the addictive nature of the drugs and what chemsex could offer left people feeling forced to continue engaging, which ultimately felt disempowering.2) People experience relationships with others in chemsex as offering both belonging and exclusion
o The chemsex scene was a way of making friends and gaining a sense of community for some people. However, some people also described it as a fragile, untrustworthy environment where friendships could end quickly if something went wrong during a session.
o People described needing to be cautious of who they could trust in chemsex, which then made accessing support services particularly difficult as some people felt there was an expectation to be totally open with professionals early on.3) People experienced chemsex as a place of receiving and losing care
o Chemsex allowed people to be emotionally vulnerable in ways they would not otherwise be and at times felt very cared for by others in chemsex and by chemsex specific services.
o For some people, chemsex made sober sex feel impossible and so giving up chemsex meant giving up sex altogether.REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0092
Date of REC Opinion
8 Feb 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion