Sexual and gender minority Hispanics/Latinxs (henceforth: Latinxs) continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS in the U.S. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a biomedical prevention approach which holds significant promise for at risk and vulnerable populations. We discuss barriers and facilitators to uptake of PrEP among sexual and gender minority Latinxs living in the U.S. through an ecosocial lens that takes into account structural, community, and individual contexts. The impact of immigration status on PrEP uptake emerges as a major and recurrent theme that must be understood and addressed by HIV prevention programs aiming to promote an inclusive strategy for sexual and gender minority Latinxs living in the U.S.
We investigated whether strengths of the relationships between anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) victimization, fear of violence at school, and suicide risk differ by sexual orientation among a predominantly ethnic minority sample of adolescents. Using the 2012 District of Columbia Youth Risk Behavior Survey high school data set, we performed a 4-stage, stepwise logistic regression for suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and suicide planning. First, we tested the independent variables, sexual orientation and anti-LGBT victimization. Second, we added an anti-LGBT victimization by sexual orientation interaction term. Third, we tested the independent variable, fear of violence at school, in an additive model. Fourth, we added a fear of violence at school by sexual orientation interaction term. In Model 1, sexual orientation and anti-LGBT victimization were both significantly associated with each suicide risk behavior. In Model 2, the anti-LGBT victimization by sexual orientation interaction term was not significant for any of the dependent variables. In Model 3, fear of violence at school was significantly associated with each suicide risk behavior. In Model 4, the fear of violence at school by sexual orientation interaction term was not significant for suicide attempts or suicidal ideation but was significant for suicide planning in the direction opposite to our hypotheses. Anti-LGBT victimization, sexual orientation, and fear of violence at school were associated with suicidal ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempts. The strength of the association between fear of violence at school and suicide planning was weaker for sexual minority adolescents than for heterosexual adolescents.
We examined motivations for migration to the United States (US) among 482 Brazilian, Colombian, and Dominican men who have sex with men (MSM). Participants' most common reason for migration was to improve their financial situation (49%), followed by sexual migration in order to affirm their sexual orientation (40%). Fewer endorsed sexual migration motivated by avoiding persecution due to being gay (13%). We conducted further analyses among 276 participants who migrated after age 15 and were HIV-negative at the time of migration. We hypothesized that sexual migration would be associated with greater likelihood of HIV acquisition post-migration. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis indicated that sexual migration motivated by avoiding persecution due to being gay was associated with increased odds of contracting HIV after arrival in the US whereas sexual migration to lead a gay life was not. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing the negative impact of anti-gay discrimination in countries of origin.
This chapter reviews research-supported community interventions for sexual minorities and their communities, the theories that guide those interventions, and practical efforts to partner with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) people from a community psychology perspective. We highlight promising approaches and discuss limitations of previous interventions. The chapter begins by defining constructs used by sexual and gender minorities and by people who work with them.Acronyms referring to sexual minorities vary and may at times accurately refer to only those subgroups represented by initials (e.g., LGB, LGBT, LGBTQ) and at other times be outdated; regardless, they will be reported here as in the original studies. The term LGBTQ encompasses sexual orientation and gender identity, two individual characteristics that are often conflated (American Psychological Association [APA], 2008). Sexual orientation refers to "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/ or sexual attraction to men, women, or both sexes" (Zea & Nakamura, 2014, p. 395). Gender identity is the person's sense of being a man or a woman. For some authors, gender identity constitutes a binary category that does not take into account gender subjectivity (Vázquez-Gascot, 2010). Transgender is a term for people whose gender identity, expression, or behavior does not match the sex they were assigned at birth (APA LGBT Concerns Office and Public and Member Communications, 2011). Bond and Wasco discuss the use of gender by community
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