Substance Use and Chemsex in MSM - A Latent Class Analysis

• Author: Ingo Schäfer,Sven Buth,Sascha Milin,Anne Deborah Scholz-Hehn,Jens Reimer,Bernd Schulte
• DOI: 10.1177/00220426211040564
• Date: 01 January 2022
• Published date: 01 January 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Journal of Drug Issues

2022, Vol. 52(1) 83–96

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/00220426211040564

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Substance Use and Chemsex in

MSM - A Latent Class Analysis

Anne Deborah Scholz-Hehn

1

, Sascha Milin

2

,

Bernd Schulte

2

, Jens Reimer

2

, Sven Buth

2

, and

Ingo Sch¨

afer

1

Abstract

Engagement in “chemsex”among men who have sex with men is associated with higher rates of

STIs and HIV seroconversion as well as an increased mental health burden. MSM were recruited

for an anonymous online survey. The survey included questions of substance use, consumption

motives, sexual risk behavior, HIV serostatus, and psychological characteristics. A latent class

analysis was used to identify subgroups based on the consumed substances. 597 MSM answered

the questionnaire. The latent class analysis revealed four different clusters. Most men described

the use of amyl nitrite and cannabis (n= 370). One cluster consumed mainly MDMA, cocaine, and

amphetamine (n= 106) and another cluster used mainly chemsex-related drugs (n= 43). A fourth

cluster reported a range of consumed substances (n= 78). This cluster reported higher rates of

suicide attempts, STIs, and risk behaviors. Substances typically related to chemsex were con-

sumed in a sexualized context to a relevant extent.

Keywords

HIV prevention, harm reduction, chemsex, drug addiction, MSM, substance use

Introduction

Substance use among men who have sex with men (MSM) is higher than in comparable non-MSM

samples (Hunter et al., 2014). Substances like 3, 4-Methylendioxy-N-methylamphetamine

(MDMA) and cocaine are commonly used in gay party scenes and are sometimes, among

other substances, referred to as “club drugs”(Drumright et al., 2006). Another phenomenon of

increasing importance among MSM is “chemsex,”the planned sexual intercourse with changing

partners under the inf‌luence of so called “chems”(Giorgetti et al., 2017). The term “chems”

1

Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr, Hamburg,

Germany

2

Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research (ZIS), Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical

Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr, Hamburg, Germany

Corresponding Author:

Deborah Scholz-Hehn, Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf,

52 Martinistr, Hamburg 20246, Germany.

Email: a.scholz-hehn@uke.de