Racial and sexual orientation identity as a predictor of social support among African-American men who have sex with men

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Tonya C. Hucks-Bradshaw, PhD, South Carolina State University, P.O. Box 7768, 300 College Street, NE, Orangeburg, SC 30909, 706-951-7746, tcamillehucks@yahoo.com, Vickie M. Mays, PhD, MSPH, Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, A. Kathleen Burlew, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, A&S-Psychology, P. O. Box 210376, Cincinnati, OH 45221, and Susan D. Cochran, PhD, MS, Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772.

Previous studies indicate that social support and positive ethnic identity, in addition to positive gay identity, are associated with decreased sexual risk-taking behaviors. An area of research that may help conceptualize the issues surrounding HIV transmission in the African American community is to study the relationship between racial/sexual orientation identity and social support. The participants were 637 African American men who reported at least one sexual experience with another man. This project was a secondary analysis of a sample that participated in a national questionnaire. Participants were asked to define themselves in one of five categories that assessed their race and sexual orientation and to rate the level of emotional and tangible support from six sources of support within the gay Black, heterosexual Black, and gay White communities. ANOVAs were conducted to examine the amount of types of social support from various sources received from the men based on their racial/sexual identification. There were significant group differences in emotional support from Black Gay men, F[4,422]=5.03, p<.01, emotional support from Black heterosexual men F[4,422]=4.00, p<.01, emotional support from White Gay men, F[4,422]= 4.00, p<.01, tangible support from the gay Black community, F[4,422]= 8.53, p<.01, tangible support from the heterosexual Black community, F[4,422]= 5.10, p<.01, and tangible support from the gay White community, F[4, 422]= 4.42, p<.01. Results indicated that African American MSM's self-identification was associated with where they received tangible social support and from whom they received emotional support.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

1. Identify three common barriers that African-American MSMs face in the African-American and predominately white gay communities.
2. Articulate the challenges African-American MSMs face in integrating their racial and sexual orientation identities.
3. Describe the relationship between self-identified labels and social support from various communities among African-American MSMs.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

African-American MSM and HIV/AIDS: New Understandings and Innovative Interventions

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA