People living with HIV/AIDS are stigmatized. Although personal and social consequences of this stigmatization have been documented, research regarding its impact on social interactions is scarce. Latinos, and Puerto Ricans in particular, have voiced concern regarding AIDS stigma. The authors investigated the key role of social interaction in the process of stigmatization through in-depth, semistructured interviews in a sample of 30 Puerto Ricans living with HIV/AIDS. Participants reported instances in which AIDS stigma negatively influenced social interactions with family, friends, sexual partners, coworkers, and health professionals. Some of the consequences they described were loss of social support, persecution, isolation, job loss, and problems accessing health services. Findings support the need for interventions to address AIDS stigma and its consequences.

This article presents the evaluation of an HIV prevention model and intervention targeting Latino gay males and men who have sex with men in Puerto Rico. Based on the health belief model in combination with concepts of self-efficacy, cognitive theory, and community development, a series of workshops were developed to enhance safer sex behavior among participants. A total of 587 men recruited by availability in gay meeting places and through peer referral participated in the intervention between 1992 and 1995. Participants engaged in a 3-hour small group meeting and four 3-hour workshops as part of the intervention. Pretests and posttests were administered to measure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV infection; a risk index was calculated to measure the level of behavior risk for HIV infection. Participants demonstrated lower risk indexes after the intervention. This model represents a culturally competent and relevant intervention for similar communities.

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Domestic violence (DV) is a pattern of behaviors in the context of an intimate relationship, which can be manifested in emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. DV currently represents a social and a public health issue. This study is an effort to foster a better understanding of DV among same-sex couples. In it, the authors included the participation of 199 Puerto Rican gay males to identify prevalence of DV, violence in their family of origin, participants' addictive behaviors and exposure to violence at childhood, and their conflict resolution skills. Participants were relatively young, highly educated Puerto Rican gay men who reported a high level of domestic violence in their relationships. This violence was identified as emotional violence by 48% of the participants. This sample reported high levels of violence among their families of origin and low conflict resolution skills.

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A sample of 302 Puerto Rican gay males living in Puerto Rico and New York participated in this study with the objective of assessing the prevalence of domestic violence. A self-administered questionnaire was developed addressing issues of intergenerational violence, addictive behaviors, and domestic violence in three dimensions: emotional, physical, and sexual violence. The results concluded that close to half of the participants had experienced some sort of violence in their intimate relationships, have a history of being witness to domestic violence in their family of origin, and had identified in themselves and their families, addictive behaviors. Other variables measured are HIV and sexual coercion, drug and alcohol abuse, and levels of acculturation among participants living in the United States. The main objective of this work is to describe the development of the instrument used in the study. Based on the results of this study we describe the psychometric characteristics and content of the final questionnaire. Final recommendations are made for other researchers interested in doing domestic violence studies with Latino gay men and men who have sex with men.

ResumenEn la medida en que el mundo se ha globalizado y las fronteras parecen ser cada vez más difusas, pareciera que algunos sectores de la sociedad tienen la necesidad de acentuar las diferencias y poner distancia de esas diferencias. Esto parece observarse en los niveles de exclusión y rechazo que reciben las personas que pertenecen a las comunidades de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y transgéneros. Desde una perspectiva de las prácticas basadas en evidencia y de los derechos humanos, este artículo presenta el estado actual de las investigaciones sobre la discriminación sexual. La homofobia individual e institucionalizada sirve como base central de la discriminación. Se discute la transgresión del género como elemento fundamental para justificar el odio y la discriminación que puede llevar al homicidio. Se plantea la necesidad de que desde la psicología se desarrollen estándares éticos para las intervenciones en estas comunidades.Palabras clave: Discriminación sexual, homofobia, diversidad sexual y psicología AbstractAs the world is more globalized and frontiers are constantly more diffused, some sectors of society have the need to underline differences and establish distance from these differences. This seems to be observed in the levels of social exclusion and rejection that members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities receive. From a perspective of evidence based practices and human rights, this article present the current state of research on sexual discrimination. Individual and institutional homophobia is presented as a key element for discrimination. It is discussed that gender transgression is also a fundamental element for the justification of hate that might lead to homicide. The need for psychology to develop ethical standards for interventions in these communities is presented. Keywords: Sexual discrimination, homophobia, sexual diversity and psychology IntroducciónEn la medida en que el mundo se ha globalizado y las fronteras parecen ser cada vez más difusas, pareciera que algunos sectores de la sociedad tienen la necesidad de acentuar las diferencias y poner distancia de esas diferencias. Estas situaciones se hacen evidentes en términos religiosos, de etnicidad y origen nacional. En Latinoamérica se incluyen también los sectores indígenas y las ideas políticas.La insistencia en las diferencias entre los grupos y dar privilegio a un grupo por encima de los demás, lo que se ha denominado "orientación social dominante" (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth & Malle, 1994), da origen a elaborar estereotipos y juicios a priori. Esta es principalmente la base del prejuicio intergrupal. La base de la discriminación suele encontrarse casi siempre en los estereotipos, que son creencias, ideas y sentimientos negativos o positivos hacia ciertas personas pertenecientes a un grupo determinado. Cuando se realiza una valoración negativa de un grupo en base al estereotipo, el resultado es el prejuicio. Cuando los prejuicios llevan a una persona a actuar de un modo determinado respecto al grupo o indivi...