1.
11th International AIDS Impact Conference
October 2, 2013, 9:00-11:00am
Session: Late Breaker
Exploring focus groups as a healthy sexuality
intervention among gay, bisexual, and queer
adolescent males
Tonya Prescott BA1
Michele Ybarra MPH PhD1
L. Zachary DuBois PhD2
Jeffrey Parsons PhD3
Sheana Bull PhD4
Brian Mustanski PhD 2
1 Center for Innovative Public Health Research, San
Clemente, California, USA
2 Impact Program, Northwestern University,
Chicago, Illinois, USA
3 Hunter College, City University of New York, New
York, NY, USA
4 Colorado School of Public Health, University of
Colorado Denver, Aurora, CA, USA

2.
Acknowledgements
The project described is supported by Award Number R01
MH096660 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and
does not necessarily represent the official views of the
National Institute of Mental Health.
We would like to thank the entire G2G Team from Center
for Innovative Public Health Research and Northwestern
University. We‟d also like to acknowledge the contributions
of our consultants, Drs. Sheana Bull and Jeffrey Parsons.
Finally, we thank the participants for their time and
willingness to participate in this study.

3.
Backdrop to contextualize
discussion
 LGB youth face stigma and discrimination, and are often
marginalized by society. This understandably leads to
feelings of isolation for some youth (D'Augelli 2002; Hershberger
and D'Augelli 1995)
 Social support can play an important protective role in the
lives of LGBT youth, reducing the effects of risk factors they
may encounter (Anhalt & Morris, 1998)
 Studies suggest that young LGBT people are more satisfied
with social support from other LGBT people (Mercier &
Berger, 1989; Munoz-Plaza, Quinn, & Rounds, 2002)
 Online spaces may offer LGBT youth expanded opportunities
for this type of social support (GLSEN, 2013)

4.
Online focus groups
 Aim: Guide program content and logistic decisions
for text-messaging healthy sexuality program for
GBQ adolescent males
 Four focus groups (n=75)
 November 2012 and January 2013
 3 consecutive days
 Stratified by sexual experience (anal/vaginal sex ever)
 Asynchronous, bulletin-board style format
 Password-protected website
 Participants created anonymous username
 Daily moderation and probing

5.
Participant demographics
(n=75)
5%
5%
19%
1%
15%
55%
Race
Asian
Black or African American
Mixed racial background
Native American or Alaskan
native
29%
71%
Urbanicity
Rural Urban

6.
Focus groups #1 and 2: Social
Support
When we asked youth what kinds of incentives we
needed to provide participants to stay engaged, they
said:
“For me just knowing that there are guys
like me out there that are dealing with
the same stuff and being reminded to stay
safe and have fun with life is enough for
me.”
“I actually enjoyed this project because I
got to get some idea of people that are
just like me.”

7.
Focus groups #1 and 2: Increased
IMB
 “It was an amazing experience. It was a pleasure
to be part of it, and it has taught me so much
more than I thought it would.”
 “I think that participating in this project was
amazing on its own, and “knowledge is power
and a reward on its own.”
These types of comments suggested to us that the focus
group experience provided: a) important social support and
b) information, motivation, and behavioral skills that may
have served as a type of „intervention‟ for participants

8.
Focus groups #3 and 4
To better understand the influence that the focus
groups might be having on behavior and support
indicators, in FGs 3-4, we added the following
questions:
 “In what ways do you think your views have changed (if
at all) as a result of taking part in this Discussion?”
 “In what ways do you think your behavior might change
(if at all) as a result of taking part in this Discussion?”
 “In what ways (if at all) has this Discussion changed
your views or thoughts about having/not having sex?”
 “How has the Discussion changed your views or
thoughts (if at all) about using/not using condoms?”

9.
Focus groups #3 and 4: Social
connectivity and norming delaying
sex
Sexually inexperienced:
 “This discussion has helped me realize just how
many guys out there want to wait for the right
guy for sex (and relationships in general). It gives
me hope that in college, I won't have a problem
finding an amazing guy! :)”
 “I'll advocate safe sex and waiting for the right
person around my friends more--instead of just
being neutral on the topic”
 “This group has helped me see that I'm not alone
here.”

10.
Focus groups #3 and 4: Norming
safe sex behavior
 Sexually experienced:
 “learned that although a lot of my peers are out
there having unprotected sex, there are a huge
group of others that are just as cautious as I am.
It sort of helped reinforce my safe sex practices.
Which of course was nice :)”
 “I feel more open to discussing my sexuality”
 “The discussion has helped me see what I can do
for myself to make it easier to use condoms all
the time and why I should.”

11.
Endorsement of changed/ reinforced
beliefs
50%
39%
28%
44%
55%
65%
75%
65%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Views have
changed
Behavior might
change
Changed your
views or thoughts
about having/not
having sex
Changed your
views or thoughts
about using/not
using condoms
Sexually inexperienced (n=17)
Sexually experienced (n=20)

12.
Conclusions
 Focus groups that use a national sampling frame
result in a sample of youth from both urban and
rural settings. The latter may have fewer in-
person supports and resources.
 Connecting with other GBQ guys over the 3-day
period seemed to have a positive effect on teen
participants, both in terms of support, and
aspects of HIV preventive behavior
 Further investigation to quantify the influence of
focus groups on healthy sexual behaviors
appears warranted

13.
Thank you!
For more information, please contact:
Tonya Prescott
tonya@innovativepublichealth.org
* Thank you for your interest in this presentation. Please note that
analyses included herein are preliminary. More recent, finalized analyses
may be available by contacting CiPHR for further information.