Substance use among highly sexually active gay and bisexual men: Examining sexual compulsivity, hypersexuality, and substance use

Background Even in the presence of promising biomedical treatment as prevention, HIV incidence among men who have sex with men has not always decreased. Counseling interventions, therefore, continue to play an important role in reducing HIV sexual transmission behaviors among gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men. The present study evaluated effects of a small-group counseling intervention on psychosocial outcomes and HIV sexual risk behavior. Method HIV-positive (HIV+) peer counselors administered seven 2-hour counseling sessions to groups of 5 to 8 HIV+ gay and bisexual men. The intervention employed information provision, motivational interviewing, and behavioral skills building to reduce sexual transmission risk behaviors. Results There was a significant reduction in condomless anal sex (CAS) with HIV-negative and unknown HIV-status partners, from 50.0% at baseline to 28.9% of the sample at 3-month follow-up. Findings were robust even when controlling for whether the participant had an undetectable viral load at baseline. Significant reductions were also found in the two secondary psychosocial outcomes, loneliness and sexual compulsivity. Conclusions The findings provide preliminary evidence that this intervention may offer an efficient way of concurrently reducing CAS and mental health problems, such as sexual compulsivity and loneliness, for HIV+ gay and bisexual men. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02546271

Download Full-text

Childhood sexual abuse and sexual dysfunction in gay and bisexual men: the role of substance use, emotion dysregulation, and coping strategies.

10.32920/ryerson.14651898.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marie Faaborg-Andersen

Keyword(s):

Sexual Abuse ◽

Substance Use ◽

Erectile Dysfunction ◽

Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽

Sexual Dysfunction ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Emotion Dysregulation ◽

Gay And Bisexual Men ◽

Bisexual Men ◽

And Bisexual

Sexual dysfunction has been associated with considerable mental health and interpersonal problems. Gay and bisexual men report a higher rate of sexual dysfunction and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) compared to heterosexual men. The relationship between CSA and adult sexual health problems has been well established; however, the pathways leading from CSA to erectile dysfunction are poorly understood. The role that coping strategies, emotion dysregulation, and substance use play in the association between CSA and erectile dysfunction was examined using a mediational model. Results were not found to be statistically significant, with the exception of a significant relationship between CSA and avoidant coping. Possible explanations for the lack of significant findings are discussed, including problems with the measurement of ED. This study provided support for the disproportionately high rates of CSA among gay men.

Download Full-text

P434 Substance use patterns and HIV prevention among gay and bisexual men in the 2014–2015 sex now survey

10.1136/sextrans-2019-sti.520 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Kiffer Card ◽

Robert Higgins ◽

Len Tooley ◽

Aidan Ablona ◽

Terry Trussler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Hiv Prevention ◽

Gay And Bisexual Men ◽

Bisexual Men ◽

Use Patterns ◽

And Bisexual

Download Full-text

Multi-Dimensional Factors Associated with Illegal Substance Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Taiwan

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16224476 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (22) ◽

pp. 4476 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Dian-Jeng Li ◽

Shiou-Lan Chen ◽

Cheng-Fang Yen

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Logistic Regression ◽

Early Adulthood ◽

Gay And Bisexual Men ◽

Stepwise Logistic Regression ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Bisexual Men ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Factors Associated ◽

And Bisexual

Illegal substance use in sexual minorities is an important health issue worldwide. The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the multi-dimensional factors associated with illegal substance use among gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. This questionnaire-survey study recruited 500 gay or bisexual men aged between 20 and 25 years. Their experiences of using eight kinds of illegal substances in the preceding month were collected. Their previous experiences of homophobic bullying, satisfaction with academic performance, truancy, perceived family and peer support in childhood and adolescence, and social-demographic characteristics, were also collected. Potential factors associated with illegal substance use were identified using univariate logistic regression, and further selected into a forward stepwise logistic regression model to identify the factors most significantly related to illegal substance use. A total of 22 (4.4%) participants reported illegal substance use in the preceding month, and mean age was 22.9 ± 1.6. Forward stepwise logistic regression revealed that being victims of homophobic cyberbullying in childhood and adolescence (odds ratio (OR) = 1.26; p = 0.011), disclosure of sexual orientation at junior high school (OR = 4.67; p = 0.001), and missing classes or truancy in senior high school (OR = 2.52; p = 0.041) were significantly associated with illegal substance use in early adulthood. Multi-dimensional factors in childhood and adolescence that were significantly associated with illegal substance use in early adulthood among gay and bisexual men were identified. Besides traditional bullying, the effect of cyberbullying and school performance on illegal substance use should not be ignored. This study is limited to the cross-sectional design and possible recall bias. Mental health professionals must routinely assess these significant factors to prevent and intervene in illegal substance use among gay and bisexual men.

Download Full-text