Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Mental Health, Sexual Risk Behaviors, and Drinking Patterns Among Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men

ABSTRACT

One in five Latino men who have sex with men has experienced child sexual abuse. Although concerning in itself, child sexual abuse may increase an individuals’ likelihood of depression and risk-taking in adult life, including engagement in HIV risk behaviors and alcohol and substance use. It is therefore urgent that researchers and practitioners better understand the long-term effects of child sexual abuse. We utilized logistic and linear regression to assess associations between child sexual abuse (operationalized as forced or coerced sexual activity before age 17) and depression, sexual behaviors, and drinking patterns in a sample of 176 adult Latino men who have sex with men from New York City. Over one-fifth (22%) of participants reported child sexual abuse. In multivariable models, participants with histories of child sexual abuse were significantly more likely than participants without such histories to screen for clinically significant depressive symptoms and heavy drinking and reported more anal sex acts, male sexual partners, and incidents of condomless anal intercourse in the previous three months. These findings confirm a high prevalence of child sexual abuse among Latino men who have sex with men and associations between child sexual abuse and adulthood depressive symptoms, high-risk alcohol consumption, and sexual risk behaviors. We recommend that providers who serve Latino men who have sex with men incorporate child sexual abuse screenings into mental health, HIV prevention, and substance use treatment programs, utilizing approaches that are inclusive of resilience.

KEYWORDS:

• Abuse
• alcohol
• depression
• HIV
• Latinos

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants who completed the intervention adaptation sessions for their contribution to research.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Ethical standards and informed consent

The study was approved by the New York State Psychiatric Institute Institutional Review Board. We further obtained a National Institutes of Health Certificate of Confidentiality in accordance with the Public Health Service Act 42 U.S.C. 241(d) to ensure privacy. All participants provided oral informed consent; we were granted a waiver of written consent due to the minimal risk of harm to participants. Although we did not provide financial incentives, we collaborated with participants to identify unmet health needs and provide appropriate resources and referrals as part of the screening process. All participants were provided with a list of comprehensive services, including HIV and STI testing venues and mental health resources.

Funding

This research was supported by a center grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University (P30-MH43520; principal investigator: Robert H. Remien, PhD). Omar Martinez was supported by a training grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (T32 MH19139, Behavioral Science Research in HIV Infection; principal investigator: Theo Sandfort, PhD). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a center grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University (P30-MH43520; principal investigator: Robert H. Remien, PhD). Omar Martinez was supported by a training grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (T32 MH19139, Behavioral Science Research in HIV Infection; principal investigator: Theo Sandfort, PhD). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIMH.

Notes on contributors

Ethan Czuy Levine

Ethan Czuy Levine, MA, PhD(c), is a graduate student and research assistant in the Sociology Department at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Omar Martinez

Omar Martinez, JD, MS, MPH, is an assistant professor in the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Brian Mattera

Brian Mattera, BSW, is a research assistant in the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Elwin Wu

Elwin Wu, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Columbia University in New York, New York.

Sonya Arreola

Sonya Arreola, PhD, MPH, is a senior research advisor at the Global Forum on MSM and HIV in Oakland, California.

Scott Edward Rutledge

Scott Edward Rutledge, PhD, is an associate professor in the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bernie Newman

Seth Welles, PhD, is a professor at the School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Larry Icard

Bernie Newman, PhD, is an associate professor in the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Miguel Muñoz-Laboy

Larry Icard, PhD, is a professor in the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Carolina Hausmann-Stabile

Miguel Muñoz-Laboy, DrPH, is an associate professor in the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Seth Welles

Scott D. Rhodes is a professor at the Wake Forest University Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Scott D. Rhodes

Carolina Hausmann-Stabile, PhD, is an assistant professor in the College of Public Health at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Brian M. Dodge

Brian M. Dodge, PhD, is an associate professor at the School of Public Health at Indiana University-Bloomington in Bloomington, Indiana.

Sarah Alfonso

Sarah Alfonso, BA, is a research assistant in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

M. Isabel Fernandez

M. Isabel Fernandez, PhD, is a professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Alex Carballo-Diéguez

Alex Carballo-Diéguez is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, New York.