ABSTRACT

Transgender women are more likely to exchange sex than cisgender individuals. This study investigated how social networks were associated with exchange sex among transgender women in Los Angeles County. From July 2015 to September 2016, transgender women (N = 271; “egos”) reported their sexual and substance use behaviors and perceptions of the same behaviors among their peers (N = 2,619; “alters”). Clustered logistic and negative binomial regressions were used to model odds of exchange sex and number of exchange sex partners in the past 6 months, respectively. Transgender women who perceived that any of their peers were engaged in exchange sex were approximately four times more likely to exchange sex themselves and reported three times as many exchange sex partners as those who did not perceive any peers engaged in exchange sex. Perceived ecstasy use among peers was associated with higher odds of exchange sex and more exchange sex partners, whereas perceived marijuana use among peers was associated with lower odds of exchange sex and fewer exchange sex partners. Peer behaviors were strongly associated with both transgender women’s likelihood and rate of engagement in exchange sex. Risk reduction interventions with transgender women should attend to network dynamics that are often overlooked in existing programs.

摘要

跨性别女性比顺性别个体更有可能发生性行为。这项研究调查了社交网络如何与洛杉矶县跨性别女性的交换性行为相关联。从 2015 年 7 月到 2016 年 9 月，跨性别女性（N = 271；“自我”）报告了她们的性行为和物质使用行为以及同龄人对相同行为的看法（N = 2,619；“改变”）。聚类逻辑回归和负二项式回归分别用于模拟过去 6 个月内交换性别的几率和交换性伴侣的数量。认为任何同龄人从事交换性行为的变性女性自己交换性行为的可能性大约是那些认为没有任何同龄人从事交换性行为的人的四倍，并且报告交换性伴侣的数量是那些不认为任何同龄人从事交换性行为的人的三倍。同龄人中感知的摇头丸使用与更高的交换性行为几率和更多的交换性伴侣相关，而同龄人中感知的大麻使用与较低的交换性行为几率和更少的交换性伴侣相关。同伴行为与跨性别女性参与性交换的可能性和参与率密切相关。跨性别女性的风险降低干预措施应关注现有计划中经常被忽视的网络动态。