Recipient syringe sharing and its relationship to social proximity, perception of risk and preparedness to share.

We sought to examine the association between the perceived risk attached to recipient syringe sharing and the past and future practice of this unsafe injecting activity. Injecting drug users (IDU) with a history of past sharing with sexual partner identified significantly less risk in this activity compared to those with no past history of borrowing from sexual partner. Significant differences in risk perception were also found when comparing IDU with and without a history of sharing with close friends and with acquaintances. Preparedness to share in the future was significantly associated with lower perceived risk in borrowing from sexual partners (p=0.009) and close friends (p=0.01). We conclude that perceived risk is associated with both past sharing and preparedness to share in the future, particularly with groups of closer social proximity. Cognitive interventions which succeed in elevating perceived risk could reduce actual sharing with other IDU of close social proximity.