Parenting and child-caretaking among black men who have sex with men and associated sexual and reproductive health factors: a brief report

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the prevalence of parenting and child-caretaking among a sample of black men who have sex with men (MSM), as well as associations between parenting roles and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) factors. Parenting and SRH data were derived from a survey of 199 black MSM. Nearly half of the sample reported being a father or father-figure (44.4%), almost a third indicated serving as caretaker of a child (29.1%), and one in five have a biological child (20.1%). Over half of the sample reported at least one of these three parenting/child-caretaking roles (52.5%). Two significant differences were observed for sexual health variables: men with biological children were significantly more likely to report using condoms inconsistently (55.0% vs. 35.7%, p = .026) and engaging in transactional sex work (36.8% vs. 21.0%, p = .041). Given the observed prevalence, parenting and child-caretaking among black MSM warrant further inquiry as factors that may influence SRH outcomes and care utilization. Services and interventions tailored to black MSM should consider these men’s potential roles and responsibilities as parents and caretakers of children.

Keywords:

• Black men
• child-caretaking
• parenting
• sexual minority men

Disclosure statement

The author’s affiliation is included for informational purposes only; this work was not conducted under the auspices of the Guttmacher Institute. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Guttmacher Institute.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this manuscript was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01AI20700. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.