title: Performance of the Duke Religion Index and the spiritual well-being scale in online samples of men who have sex with men.
abstract: Religiosity is associated with behaviors that reduce the risk of HIV/STI infection among general-population and heterosexual-specific samples. Whether this association is similar to homosexual persons is unknown. Measures of religiosity have not been evaluated psychometrically among men who have sex with men (MSM), a population who, because of stigma, experience religiosity differently than heterosexual persons. We assessed the duke religion index and the spiritual well-being in two samples of MSM. Neither instrument produced adequate model fit. To study the association between religiosity and HIV/STI risk behaviors among MSM, scales are needed that measure the religious and spiritual experiences of MSM.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 S. 2nd Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. wilke177@umn.edu
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wilkerson
authors.forename: Derek J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Smolensk
authors.forename: Sonya S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.forename: B R Simon
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Rosser
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D029181:Spirituality; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data