Exploring Psychosocial Factors and Sexual Risk Behavior Of Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States Military
Document Type
Presentation
Presentation Date
11-11-2018
Abstract or Description
Presentation given by Georgia Southern student Erin Jordon with faculty members Stacy Smallwood, Rochani D. Haresh, and Jeff Jones at the 2018 American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting. background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at a disproportionate risk for HIV infection. While many studies have examined psychosocial factors associated with HIV risk among MSM, few have focused specifically on MSM in the military. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine ways in which specific psychosocial factors are associated with sexual risk behaviors among MSM in the military. methods: Data were collected from 55 MSM who were active duty military personnel or veterans in the Southeastern US. Participants were recruited from geosocial mobile applications, social media platforms, and military LGBT organizations. Logistic regression was used to investigate the associations between internalized homonegativity, masculinity, sexual sensation seeking (SSS), degree of outness, and sexual risk behaviors. results: The mean age of participants was 38.25 years (SD=13.58). Almost half were veterans (49.1%) and 38.2 % were on active duty. Degree of outness (NOS) was negatively correlated with internalized homonegativity (IH) (r = -.71, p<.01) and masculinity (MASC) (r=-.46, p<.01). IH was significantly correlated with MASC (r=.41, p<.01). Active duty participants (M=102.3, SD = 29.1) had significantly higher MASC scores than veterans (M=87.6, SD = 19.6), t (53) = 2.2, p<.05. Sexual sensation seeking was a significant predictor of having concurrent sex partners (β = .19, p<.05). conclusions: Results suggest that certain psychosocial factors may manifest differently for MSM in the military, and that these factors can influence sexual behaviors. Future studies should further examine how unique sociocultural contexts of military affiliation affect HIV risk in this population.
Sponsorship/Conference/Institution
American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting
Location
San Diego, CA
Source
https://apha.confex.com/apha/2018/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/415005
Recommended Citation
Jordan, Erin, Stacy W. Smallwood, Haresh Rochani, Jeffery A. Jones.
2018.
"Exploring Psychosocial Factors and Sexual Risk Behavior Of Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States Military."
Department of Health Policy and Community Health Faculty Presentations.
Presentation 234.
source: https://apha.confex.com/apha/2018/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/415005
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/hpmb-facpres/234
