title: The Health and Sociocultural Correlates of AIDS Genocidal Beliefs and Medical Mistrust Among African American MSM.
abstract: This study examined social and health-related correlates of AIDS conspiracy theories among 464 African American men who have sex with men (MSM). Exploratory factor analysis revealed two subscales within the AIDS conspiracy beliefs scale: medical mistrust and AIDS genocidal beliefs. Multiple regression analyses revealed medical mistrust and AIDS genocidal beliefs were both associated negative condom use attitudes and higher levels of internalized homonegativity. Medical mistrust was also associated with lower knowledge of HIV risk reduction strategies. Finally, we conducted bivariate regressions to examine the subsample of participants who reported being HIV-positive and currently taking HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) to test associations between sexual behavior and HIV treatment and AIDS conspiracy theories. Among this subsample, medical mistrust was associated with having a detectable viral load and not disclosing HIV-status to all partners in the previous 3 months. Collectively, these findings have implications for HIV prevention and treatment for African American MSM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N. Summit, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA. kaquinn@mcw.edu.
authors.forename: Katherine G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N. Summit, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N. Summit, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA.
authors.forename: Wayne J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: DiFranceisco
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N. Summit, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA.|Division of Biostatistics, Institute for Health and Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Sergey S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tarima
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N. Summit, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA.|Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Petroll
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Janet S St
authors.initials: JSS
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Center for AIDS Intervention Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2071 N. Summit, Milwaukee, WI, 53202, USA.
authors.forename: Yuri A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Amirkhanian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003469:Culture; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D035502:Trust; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents
keywords: AIDS conspiracy theories; African American MSM; HIV risk; Medical mistrust