Sexual abuse and HIV-risk behaviour among black and minority ethnic men who have sex with men in the UK |
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| Authors: | Rusi Jaspal Barbara Lopes Zahra Jamal Ivana Paccoud Parminder Sekhon |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Faculty of Health &2. Life Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK;3. Faculty of Arts, Psychology &4. Theology, Abo Akademi, Turku, Finlandrusi.jaspal@gmail.com;6. Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educa??o, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal;7. NAZ, London, UK |
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| Abstract: | Black and minority ethnic (BME) men who have sex with men (MSM) face a major burden in relation to HIV infection. It was hypothesised that sexual abuse would predict sexual risk-taking, and that this relationship would be mediated by victimisation and maladaptive coping variables. Four hundred and thirty-two BME MSM completed the survey; 54% reported no sexual abuse and 27% reported sexual abuse. Mann–Whitney tests showed that MSM with a history of sexual abuse reported higher frequency of drug use, and of homophobia and racism than those reporting no prior sexual abuse. A structural equation model showed that the experience of sexual abuse was positively associated with sexual risk-taking and that this relationship was mediated by victimisation variables: frequency of racism and frequency of homophobia and by the maladaptive coping variable: frequency of drug use. The findings can inform the design of psycho-sexual and behavioural interventions for BME MSM. |
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| Keywords: | Sexual abuse psychological adversity HIV maladaptive coping drug use |
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