Sexual identity and risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Accra, Ghana and Lomẻ, Togo

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the MSM (N = 60)

	Mean	Percent
Age	22.33
Age at 1st sex	14.20
Number of years of education	11.33
Number of life time sexual partners	22.57
Number of people had sex with past 6 months	8.19
Number of people had sex with past 3 months	4.68
HIV Serotatus
Negative		81.7
Positive		6.7
Do not know		11.7
Had children
Yes		6.7
No		93.3
Had sex with women
Yes		21.67
No		78.33
Had ever had sexually transmitted disease
Yes		17
No		83
Had ever sold sex
Yes		31.6
No		68.4
Inconsistent condom use (vaginal and/or anal)
Yes		30.6
No		69.4
Currently employed or in school
Employed		48.3
School		40
Unemployed		11.7

Table 2. Mean, standard deviation, range and reliability statistics

Variables	Mean	(SD)	Range	Reliability
Negative identity	4.34	0.77	2.40–5.90	0.60
Identity confusion	3.20	1.77	1–7	0.70
Superiority	2.71	1.97	1–7	0.68

Description of scales: Negative Identity (average of 4 subscales): (1) Internalized homonegativity (5 items): (a) would rather be straight if I could; (b) I am glad to be an LGB person (reverse coded); (c) Homosexual lifestyles are not as fulfilling as heterosexual lifestyles; (d) I am proud to be part of the LGB community (reverse coded); (e) I wish I were heterosexual. (2) Need for Privacy (6 items): (a) I prefer to keep my same-sex romantic relationships rather private; (b) I keep careful control over who knows about my same-sex romantic relationships; (c) My private sexual behavior is nobody’s business; (d) If you are not careful about whom you come out to, you can get very hurt; (e) I think very carefully before coming out to someone; (f) My sexual orientation is a very personal and private matter. (3) Need for Acceptance (5 items): (a) I will never be able to accept my sexual orientation until all of the people in my life have accepted me; (b) I often wonder whether others judge me for my sexual orientation; (c) I can’t feel comfortable knowing that others judge me negatively for my sexual orientation; (d) Being an LGB person makes me feel insecure around straight people; (e) I think a lot about how my sexual orientation affects the way people see me. (4) Difficult Process (5 items): (a) Coming out to my friends and family has been a very lengthy process; (b) Admitting to myself that l am an LGB person has been a very painful process; (c) Developing as an LGB person has been a fairly natural process for me (reverse coded); (d) Admitting to myself that l am an LGB person has been a very slow process; (e) I have felt comfortable with my sexual identity just about from the start (reverse coded). Identity Confusion (4 items): (1) I am not totally sure what my sexual orientation is; (2) I keep changing my mind about my sexual orientation; (3) I can’t decide whether I am bisexual or homosexual; (4) I get very confused when l try to figure out my sexual orientation. Superiority (2 items): (1) I look down on heterosexuals; (2) Straight people have boring lives compared to LGB people.

Table 3. Logistic regression results for exchanging sex for valuable resources

Variables	Unstandardized coefficient (B)	Standard error (SE)	p-value	Odds ratio
Intercept	1.095	5.288	0.839	2.999
Negative identity	−2.356	1.071	0.028	0.095
Identity confusion	1.131	0.489	0.021	3.099
Superiority	0.133	0.215	0.535	1.142
Total lifetime sex partners	0.143	0.065	0.027	1.154
Age at first sex	0.011	0.112	0.919	1.011
Age	−0.110	0.120	0.358	0.896
Education (Years)	0.591	0.459	0.197	1.806

Table 4. Logistic regression results for inconsistent condom use

Variables	Unstandardized coefficient (B)	Standard error (SE)	p-value	Odds ratio
Intercept	−13.220	8.386	0.115	0.000
Negative identity	0.761	1.384	0.582	2.140
Identity confusion	0.904	0.498	0.069	2.469
Superiority	−0.678	0.381	0.075	0.508
Total lifetime sex partners	0.125	0.047	0.008	1.133
Age at first sex	−0.547	0.251	0.029	0.579
Age	0.030	0.244	0.901	1.030
Education (Years)	0.969	0.590	0.100	2.645

Table 5. Logistic regression results for having multiple sexual partners in the past 3 months

Variables	Unstandardized coefficient (B)	Standard error (SE)	p-value	Odds ratio
Intercept	−18.945	8.914	0.034	0.000
Negative identity	−0.402	0.920	0.663	0.669
Identity confusion	1.305	0.553	0.018	3.688
Superiority	−0.425	0.295	0.149	0.645
Total lifetime sex partners	0.118	0.051	0.020	1.125
Age at first sex	−0.110	0.168	0.510	0.896
Age	0.410	0.242	0.090	1.507
Education (Years)	0.918	0.455	0.044	2.504