Sexual abuse and HIV-risk behaviour among black and minority ethnic men who have sex with men in the UK

Rusi Jaspal*, Barbara Lopes, Zahra Jamal, Ivana Paccoud, Parminder Sekhon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Black and minority ethnic (BME) men who have sex with men (MSM) face a major burden in relation to HIV infection. It was hypothesised that sexual abuse would predict sexual risk-taking, and that this relationship would be mediated by victimisation and maladaptive coping variables. Four hundred and thirty-two BME MSM completed the survey; 54% reported no sexual abuse and 27% reported sexual abuse. Mann–Whitney tests showed that MSM with a history of sexual abuse reported higher frequency of drug use, and of homophobia and racism than those reporting no prior sexual abuse. A structural equation model showed that the experience of sexual abuse was positively associated with sexual risk-taking and that this relationship was mediated by victimisation variables: frequency of racism and frequency of homophobia and by the maladaptive coping variable: frequency of drug use. The findings can inform the design of psycho-sexual and behavioural interventions for BME MSM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)841-853
Number of pages13
JournalMental Health, Religion and Culture
Volume20
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Sept 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • drug use
  • HIV
  • maladaptive coping
  • psychological adversity
  • Sexual abuse

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