Changes to how gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM) connect with each other and with their communities have implications for HIV prevention. Social engagement with gay men (defined as having friends who are gay men and spending time with them) has been associated with HIV related outcomes over time among Australian GBM. Using data collected in national, repeated, cross-sectional surveys of GBM between 1998 and 2020 (N = 161,117), analyses of trends in the prevalence of gay social engagement (GSE) in Australia were conducted using linear regression. To assess changing associations with GSE at different time points in the HIV epidemic, three cross-sectional analyses were conducted on factors associated with high and low GSE in 1999/2000, 2009/2010, and 2019/2020 using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. GSE (scored from 0 to 7) declined among all participants from 4.76 in 1998 to 4.04 in 2020 (p < 0.001) with a steeper decline among GBM aged under 25 years from 4.63 in 1998 to 3.40 in 2020 (p < 0.001). In all timepoints, high GSE was associated with older age, being university educated, full time employment, identifying as gay, recent HIV testing, and PrEP uptake. While mostly associated with protective behaviors, high GSE was also associated with some practices that may put GBM at risk of HIV infection such as drug-enhanced sex and group sex in the most recent timepoint. Changing levels of GSE have implications for health promotion among GBM, particularly how to engage GBM less connected to gay social networks.

男同性恋、双性恋和其他男男性行为者 (GBM) 相互联系以及与社区联系方式的变化对 HIV 预防具有重要意义。随着时间的推移，澳大利亚 GBM 中与男同性恋者的社会交往（定义为拥有男同性恋者并与他们共度时光）与 HIV 相关结果有关。使用 1998 年至 2020 年间在 GBM 的国家、重复、横断面调查中收集的数据（N = 161,117)，使用线性回归对澳大利亚同性恋社会参与 (GSE) 的流行趋势进行了分析。为了评估在 HIV 流行的不同时间点与 GSE 变化的关联，使用双变量和多变量逻辑回归对 1999/2000、2009/2010 和 2019/2020 年 GSE 高低相关因素进行了三项横断面分析。所有参与者的 GSE（评分从 0 到 7）从 1998 年的 4.76 下降到 2020 年的 4.04（p  < 0.001），25 岁​​以下 GBM 的下降幅度更大，从 1998 年的 4.63 下降到 2020 年的 3.40（p < 0.001)。在所有时间点，高 GSE 与年龄较大、受过大学教育、全职工作、确定为同性恋、最近的 HIV 检测和 PrEP 摄取有关。虽然主要与保护行为有关，但高 GSE 也与一些可能使 GBM 处于 HIV 感染风险的做法有关，例如最近时间点的药物增强性行为和群体性行为。GSE 水平的变化对 GBM 的健康促进具有影响，特别是如何让 GBM 与同性恋社交网络的联系较少。