title: Stress and coping with racism and their role in sexual risk for HIV among African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Latino men who have sex with men.
abstract: The deleterious effects of racism on a wide range of health outcomes, including HIV risk, are well documented among racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States. However, little is known about how men of color who have sex with men (MSM) cope with stress from racism and whether the coping strategies they employ buffer against the impact of racism on sexual risk for HIV transmission. We examined associations of stress and coping with racism with unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in a sample of African American (N = 403), Asian/Pacific Islander (N = 393), and Latino (N = 400) MSM recruited in Los Angeles County, CA during 2008-2009. Almost two-thirds (65 %) of the sample reported being stressed as a consequence of racism experienced within the gay community. Overall, 51 % of the sample reported having UAI in the prior 6 months. After controlling for race/ethnicity, age, nativity, marital status, sexual orientation, education, HIV serostatus, and lifetime history of incarceration, the multivariate analysis found statistically significant main effects of stress from racism and avoidance coping on UAI; no statistically significant main effects of dismissal, education/confrontation, and social-support seeking were observed. None of the interactions of stress with the four coping measures were statistically significant. Although stress from racism within the gay community increased the likelihood of engaging in UAI among MSM of color, we found little evidence that coping responses to racism buffered stress from racism. Instead, avoidance coping appears to suggest an increase in UAI.
authors: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA, chongsukhan@gmail.com.
authors: Chong-suk
authors: CS
authors: Han
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Ayala
authors: Jay P
authors: JP
authors: Paul
authors: Ross
authors: R
authors: Boylan
authors: Steven E
authors: SE
authors: Gregorich
authors: Kyung-Hee
authors: KH
authors: Choi
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D063505:Racism / Q000523:psychology*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult