title: Racial discrimination, social support, and sexual HIV risk among Black heterosexual men.
abstract: Numerous studies document the adverse impact of racial discrimination on African Americans' health outcomes, but few have focused on HIV risk. We examined the relationship between racial discrimination and sexual risk in a sample of 526 Black heterosexual men and tested the hypothesis that social support would moderate this relationship. Participants in the predominantly low-income urban sample ranged in age from 18 to 45. High social support had a buffering impact on the relationship between racial discrimination and sexual risk. Among men reporting high racial discrimination, those with more social support reported less sexual risk than men with low social support. Men who reported high racial discrimination and low social support reported more sexual risk than men in any of the other groups. The study highlights social support as an important but understudied protective factor that may reduce sexual risk for Black heterosexual men who report high levels of racial discrimination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Prevention, School of Public Health, Drexel University, 1505 Race Street, Mailstop 1032, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. iab26@drexel.edu
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bowleg
authors.forename: Gary J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Burkholder
authors.forename: Jenné S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Massie
authors.forename: Rahab
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wahome
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teti
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Malebranche
authors.forename: Jeanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tschann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology / Q000635:transmission; D020010:Heterosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015143:Philadelphia; D063505:Racism / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American