Attachment orientation and sexual risk behaviour among young Black gay and bisexual men

Abstract

This mixed methods study used an explanatory sequential design to examine the relationship between attachment and sexual behavior among young Black gay and bisexual men (YBGBM). Cross sectional online surveys and sex diaries were completed by a sample of YBGBM in New York City (n = 153) to assess the association between adult attachment insecurity and sexual risk behavior. The Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised (ECR-R) was used to assess three types of adult attachment (i.e., secure, anxious, and avoidant). Participants reported condomless sex encounters, as well as serodiscordant condomless anal sex encounters, as measures of sexual risk. Quantitative findings suggested that there were few associations between attachment type and sexual risk behavior; only men with attachment avoidance were likely to engage in condomless sex. However, qualitative findings illuminated some of the social complexities of the association between attachment in childhood, attachment in young adulthood and intimate partnerships, which could be linked to young adult sexual risk behavior. The study findings highlight the need for researchers to further examine the process by which individual differences in attachment orientation are related to YBGBM’s sexual behavior.

Adult attachment as a moderator of the association between childhood traumatic experiences and depression symptoms among young Black gay and bisexual men.

“…Our results are partially supported by other scholars who have found that adult attachment avoidance and anxiety are associated with the increased likelihood that YBGBM will report experiencing childhood trauma and poor mental health during young adulthood (Cook, Watkins, Calebs, & Wilson, 2016). More specifically, it may be that YBGBM develop maladaptive coping strategies in response to their childhood traumatic experiences that are associated with future poor mental health.…”

“…More specifically, it may be that YBGBM develop maladaptive coping strategies in response to their childhood traumatic experiences that are associated with future poor mental health. This line of thought comes partially from the attachment research literature, which specifies the close association between adult attachment anxiety and maladaptive coping strategies (Cook, Watkins, Calebs, & Wilson, 2016). This is only one plausible explanation for our findings.…”

Relationship cognitions and longitudinal trajectories of sexual risk behavior among young gay and bisexual men: The P18 cohort study

“…This finding is supported by extant research (Newcomb et al, 2014). Further, these increases in condomless anal sex have been linked to the need to explore sex and sexuality during the emerging adulthood period (Cook, Watkins, Calebs, & Wilson, 2016). Indeed studies have found that as emerging adult gay and bisexual men become more comfortable with their sexual identity and are more comfortable with exploring different sexual situations, they are able to more fully explore different sexual partnerships (Diamond & Lucas, 2004; Gamarel, Comfort, Wood, Neilands, & Johnson, 2015).…”

“Centering the Margins”: Moving Equity to the Center of Men’s Health Research

“…Lisa Bowleg, Stephanie Cook, and others have championed the need to consider the diversity among sexual identities, experiences, and orientations of Black men ( Bowleg, 2013 ; Bowleg et al, 2016 ; Bowleg et al, 2013 ; Cook, Watkins, Calebs, & Wilson, 2016 ; Wilson et al, 2016 ). This work has been critical in highlighting how the intersection of these identities further complicates the categories or identities that remain marginalized and invisible, and how men embody gender in the context of dynamic cultural ideals and social structures in ways that create new configurations of practice, in particular, local situations and contexts, whereby diverse groups of men are negotiating different ways of being their own gendered selves ( Lusher & Robins, 2009 ).…”