Early Sexual Experiences, Mental Health, and Risk Behavior among Black Non-Hispanic and Hispanic / Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)

ABSTRACT

Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Investigating these histories is often confounded by underreporting and varied definitions of abuse. Unrecognized abuse may manifest in unhealthy ways, specifically psychological distress, substance use, and high-risk sexual behaviors. Black and Hispanic/Latino MSM in New York City discussed formative sexual experiences in in-person interviews. Eligible men reported a sexual experience occurring before age 16 with a man or woman 18 or older at the time. Among interviewees (n = 61), men living with HIV were significantly younger at the time of their first sexual experience with a male partner compared to HIV-negative men. Approximately half of interviewees (47.5%) scored at or above the diagnostic cutoff for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hispanic/Latino men had increased odds of scoring at or above the diagnostic cutoff for PTSD compared to Black non-Hispanic men. Further, nearly half of interviewees (46%) scored at or above the diagnostic cutoff for harmful drug use or possible drug dependence. Study findings have implications for future research using an indirect approach to uncovering potential sexual abuse during childhood, and associations with adult health outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Childhood sexual abuse
• gay
• bisexual
• racial/ethnic minority men
• PTSD
• substance use

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge funding for this study from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R21HD084939) to Ellen Benoit and Martin Downing, Principal Investigators. An earlier version of this manuscript was presented in 2018 at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (Montreal, Canada).

Disclosure of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts to report.

Ethical standards and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board of National Development and Research Institutes. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to completing an in-person interview.

Additional information

Funding

The study was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [R21HD084939] to Ellen Benoit and Martin Downing, Principal Investigators.

Notes on contributors

Martin J. Downing

Martin J. Downing, Jr., PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lehman College, CUNY.

Ellen Benoit

Ellen Benoit, PhD, is a Principal Investigator at North Jersey Community Research Initiative in Newark, NJ.

Dominique Brown

Dominique Brown, MPH, is a City Research Scientist at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Lauren Coe

Lauren Coe, MSEd, is a School Counselor for the New York City Department of Education.

Sabina Hirshfield

Sabina Hirshfield, PhD, is a Principal Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

Louis Pansulla

Louis Pansulla, LCSW, is a faculty member at The Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, IL and maintains a full-time clinical practice in New York City where he sees heterosexual and LGBTQ individuals, as well as their families.

Alex Carballo-Diéguez

Alex Carballo-Diéguez, PhD, is a Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University.