Faculty Collaboration Database

Psychological distress, drug use, sexual risks and medication adherence among young HIV-positive Black men who have sex with men: exposure to community violence matters. AIDS Care 2016 Jul;28(7):866-72

Date

02/27/2016

Pubmed ID

26917328

Pubmed Central ID

PMC4955550

DOI

10.1080/09540121.2016.1153596

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84959244990 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   48 Citations

Abstract

In the USA, Black males are disproportionately affected by community violence and HIV. The aim of this study was to assess whether exposures to community violence are related to psychological distress, drug use, sexual risk behaviors, and medication adherence among a sample of HIV-positive young Black men who had sex with men (YBMSM). Data are from 98 YBMSM ages 18-29 years recruited from Chicago who completed measures on demographics, exposures to community violence, psychological distress, drug use, condomless anal intercourse, and medication adherence. Rates of exposure to community violence were high and youth reported victimization and witnessing numerous types of violence in their lifetime. In adjusted logistic regression analyses, models indicate that YBMSM reporting higher levels of exposure to community violence had significantly higher rates of condomless anal intercourse in the previous 6 months (AOR: 5.33, 95%CI: 1.38-20.55). Additionally, exposure to community violence was positively associated with psychological distress, hard drug use, and use of marijuana as a sex drug. Adherence to HIV antiretroviral medication was negatively associated with community violence (AOR: 0.36, 95%CI: 0.13-0.97). Rates of exposure to community violence are especially high in urban communities. Overall findings suggest that treatment, intervention, and programmatic approaches that include initiatives to address exposure to community violence might correlate with better health-related outcomes for HIV-positive YBMSM.

Author List

Quinn K, Voisin DR, Bouris A, Schneider J

Author

Katherine Quinn PhD Associate Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Adult
Chicago
Crime Victims
Exposure to Violence
HIV Infections
Homosexuality, Male
Humans
Male
Medication Adherence
Needs Assessment
Risk-Taking
Stress, Psychological
Substance-Related Disorders
Unsafe Sex