This ongoing prospective cohort study examines a wide range of individual, social and structural factors as predictors of risk and resilience for behavioral outcomes (e.g., substance use and sexual activity), mental health conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety) and biological outcomes (e.g., HIV seroconversion, viral and bacterial sexually transmitted infections) in a sample of emerging adult men based in the New York City metropolitan area. The study applies a theory of syndemic production to examine these overlapping health states in a cohort of racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse young men.

Investigators completed two study waves: 2009 and 2014 (Wave I; n = 600) and 2014–2019 (Wave II; n = 665). Wave I included men between the ages of 18 and19 year old, whereas participants in Wave II were men aged 22 to 23 years old. 41.2% (n = 274) of Wave II participants were retained from Wave I. Over the course of the study, participants completed surveys to provide information on sociodemographic characteristics, and health-related behaviors. In an ancillary study, a subcohort of 486 participants completed surveys on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake and underwent testing for oral and anal HPV.