ABSTRACT

Rationale: A purportedly heterogeneous group of people, who come to take tests at the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing 74Clinic, includes young males and females who lead a normative lifestyle with no unique characteristics. Within this population, we have observed one distinct subgroup of predominantly male individuals, who return from time to time to take the HIV tests. They tend to partake in many occasional sexual encounters with numerous partners, and despite their obvious knowledge of the risks involved, they attest to not using condoms during sexual intercourse. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the patterns of their risky behavior in conjunction with their test taking conduct.