Dense Social Networks Inhibit HIV Disparities Among Young Gay Black Men

New research finds dense social networks play a major role in the wide HIV risk disparity between young white men who have sex with men and their black peers.

Senior author Brian Mustanski, PhD, director of Northwestern University’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, told MD Magazine® it all has to do with how “dense” a person’s social network is. Social network density is calculated by taking the total number of friends or partners reported by a person and dividing that by the total number of potential friends or partners the person could have.