Assessing drug abuse among gay-bisexual young men

The utility of an adolescent drug abuse screening tool was explored in a sample (N = 501) of young gay-bisexual men at risk for HIV-AIDS transmission. The Personal Experience Screening Questionnaire (PESQ; K.C. Winters, 1992) revealed favorable evidence of internal consistency reliability (coefficient alpha) and convergent validity with alternative measures of problem severity and delinquency behaviors. Nearly 20% of the sample had scale scores in the elevated range. The PESQ was highly associated with risky sexual behaviors, including using drugs during sex, engaging in unprotected sex, and having multiple sex partners. Study results are discussed in terms of the content and structural similarity of drug abuse among male gays-bisexuals relative to male heterosexuals and in terms of the need for early drug abuse intervention for young gay-bisexual men engaging in risky sexual behaviors.