Associations between depressive symptoms and identity-specific social support among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) in Baltimore City, Maryland

Abstract

Introduction

Depression and other adverse mental health outcomes are prevalent among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM). Social support can be protective against symptoms of depression, the effects of which may be amplified by experiences of a shared social identity.

Methods

We explored the associations between BMSM-specific social support and depressive symptoms among a sample of 280 BMSM. We used chi-square and t-tests to examine bivariate associations between social support, depressive symptoms, and key correlates, and logistic regression to adjust the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms.

Results

Most participants reported high (43.2%) or moderate (41.8%) levels of BMSM-specific social support, 38% reported depressive symptoms, and 47.6% were living with HIV. Adjusting for socioeconomic and structural vulnerabilities, health, and involvement in the gay community, high social support was associated with a marginal decrease in the odds of depressive symptoms compared to low social support.

Conclusions

Results indicate that BMSM-specific social support is protective against depressive symptoms even in the context of other socioeconomic and structural vulnerabilities, suggesting that strengths-based interventions focused on building community and mutual support among BMSM may be valuable tools to prevent depression and promote positive mental health outcomes for members of this population.

Keywords:

• Black men who have sex with men
• social support
• depression
• mental health
• public health

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the participants of the SNAP study and thank the members of the Lighthouse team; Marlesha Whittington, Charles Moore, Denise Mitchell, Tonya Johnson, and Gelores Moore for their dedication and hard work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under grant numbers R01DA031030 and R01DA040488. All research activities were reviewed and approved by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Institutional Review Board.