Age and Year of HIV Diagnosis are Associated with Perceptions of Discrimination and Internalized Stigma Among Sexual Minority Men Who Use Substances.

Discrimination and internalized stigma are barriers to engagement in HIV self-care among men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV. However, differences in perceptions of discrimination and internalized stigmas by age, year of HIV-diagnosis, and race are poorly understood. We assessed differences in reported discrimination related to HIV, race, sexual orientation, and substance use and internalized stigmas among 202 MSM living with HIV who use substances. Younger participants reported higher levels of all types of discrimination and internalized stigmas (p-values < 0.001-0.030). Those diagnosed after the advent of antiretrovirals reported higher levels of discrimination related to HIV, sexual orientation, and substance use, as well as internalized stigma related to HIV and substance use (p-values 0.001-0.049). We explored perceived community HIV stigma, which accounted for associations involving age and year of diagnosis. Age, year of diagnosis, and race should be considered when assessing and intervening with stigma.

RESUMEN: La discriminación y el estigma internalizado son barreras para el autocuidado del VIH en hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (HSH) que viven con VIH. Sin embargo, se conoce poco acerca de las diferencia que existe en la percepción de discriminación y estigma internalizado por edad, año de diagnóstico del VIH y raza. Evaluamos diferencias en torno a discriminación relacionada con el VIH reportada, raza, orientación sexual y uso de sustancias además del estigmas internalizado en 202 HSH que viven con VIH y usan sustancias. Los participantes más jóvenes reportaron los niveles más altos de cualquier forma de discriminación y estigma internalizado (valores de p <.001 - .030). Los diagnosticados después de 1996 reportaron niveles más altos de discriminación relacionada con el VIH, la orientación sexual y el uso de sustancias, así como el estigma internalizado relacionado con el VIH y uso de sustancias (valores de p .001 - 049). Para comprender mejor estas diferencias, exploramos el impacto del estigma de VIH comunitario percibido que representó la mayoría de las asociaciones relacionadas con la edad y el año del diagnóstico. Cuando se evalúan las perceptiones de discriminación y estigma internalizado, la edad, el año del diagnóstico y la raza deben ser tomados en cuenta.

"It's how we get to know each other": Substance use, connectedness, and sexual activity among men who have sex with men who are living with HIV.

BACKGROUND: Among MSM, substance use increases risk for acquiring HIV and is associated with sub-optimal engagement in HIV-related care. Most research related to substance use and sexual activity among MSM focuses on identifying and reducing risk of HIV acquisition and transmission rather than pleasure and agency. However, substance use may also facilitate sexual pleasure and build community, which could be particularly meaningful for individuals who cope with intersecting stigmas related to the disease, sexual identity, and drug use. METHODS: To explore the ways in which substance use both promotes and hinders positive sexual expression and healthy sexual relationships, we conducted a secondary analysis of 33 semi-structured qualitative interviews with MSM living with HIV who were poorly engaged in care and reported recent substance use. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed that substance use was perceived as: (1) a potential pathway to intimacy and enhanced sexual experiences; (2) a tool to help access partners and gain entry to a community; and (3) a source of empowerment, though some noted that it sometimes came at the cost of sexual disempowerment and unbalanced relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically, our results suggest that the complex motivations for substance use during sexual activity need to be carefully considered and discussed with patients, especially when attempting to decrease problematic use as a pathway to improved HIV self-care.

Syndemic relationship of depressive symptoms, substance use, and suicidality in transgender youth: a cross-sectional study using the U.S. youth risk behavior surveillance system.

PURPOSE: Syndemics are co-occurring epidemics that cluster within populations due to shared socio-structural factors and are often in populations with intersecting forms of vulnerability. Suicide, depression, and substance use all disproportionately affect transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth. In this study, we test a syndemic model of the relationship between these three mental health conditions in the context of economic deprivation and interpersonal discrimination. METHODS: We used data on substance use, depressive symptoms, suicidality, and social-structural factors from 2680 TGD youth captured in the 2017 and 2019 survey waves of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. We used a latent class analysis (LCA) to identify groups with distinct patterns of self-reported substance use and depressive symptoms, and regression models to characterize the relationship between substance-use, depressive symptoms, class membership, social-structural factors, and suicidality. RESULTS: A three-class LCA solution identified a subset of student respondents in a "high use" latent class characterized by high self-reported substance use frequency and depressive symptoms compared with other classes. Online bullying (aOR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.28-1.95) and housing insecurity (aOR: 8.78; 95% CI: 4.35-17.71) were associated with increased odds of "high use" class membership relative to the "no use" class membership. "High use" class membership was associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation (aOR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.75-2.94), plans (aOR: 2.59; 95% CI: 2.01-3.36), and attempts (aOR: 6.85; 95% CI: 3.17-15.68). CONCLUSION: The co-occurrence of substance use and depressive symptoms is associated with socio-structural factors and may drive risk for suicidality among TGD youth. Meaningful suicide prevention efforts that address disproportionate risk in this population must be attentive to and mitigate the shared determinants of mood symptoms and substance use behavior.

Envisioning a future for transgender and gender-diverse people beyond the DSM.

This editorial describes current considerations regarding psychiatric diagnoses for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people. In addition to offering an assessment of the limitations in current diagnostic standards, the authors articulate a vision for psychiatric practice marked by renewed commitment to an affirmative framework that reduces stigma.

On, With, By-Advancing Transgender Health Research and Clinical Practice.

To advance the fields of transgender health research and clinical care and center trans-led scholarship, there must be an acknowledgment of the consolidated power in cisgender hands and the subsequent need to redistribute such power to trans experts and burgeoning trans leaders. To redress the social structures that cause harm and limit opportunities for trans persons to lead, current cisgender leaders can take actions including deferring opportunities to trans persons to ensure a redistribution of power and resources to trans experts. This article presents necessary steps to recruit, collaborate, and elevate trans experts.

To Disclose, Not Disclose, or Conceal: A Qualitative Study of HIV-Positive Men with Multiple Concealable Stigmatized Identities.

People living with HIV (PLHW) and other concealable stigmatized identities (CSIs) face continual decisions about the degree of openness they are willing to allow for their identities in different social contexts. Disclosing or concealment of CSIs describes potential stigma management strategies that may have distinct psychosocial consequences. This study aimed to examine disclosure processes in a sample of sexual minority men (SMM) with intersecting CSIs, who use substances and were suboptimally engaged in HIV care. Interviews (N = 33) were initially double coded following thematic analysis, which identified disclosure as a theme. Subsequently, content analysis and additional selective double coding were used to iteratively identify and refine subthemes related to disclosure decisions. Illustrative quotes and frequencies of the invoked subthemes and identities were recorded for each participant. The majority of participants discussed experiences of disclosure and nondisclosure (N = 31, 94%). Among these, a spectrum of related behaviors and preferences emerged, including active disclosure, passive disclosure, passive nondisclosure, and concealment. Across disclosure-related content, in addition to HIV status, the majority of participants also described navigating decisions about disclosure of sexual orientation (71%), substance use (61%), and multiple identities at once (55%). Findings from this study highlight the fluid and multi-dimensional nature of identity-related disclosure processes in SMM with multiple CSIs. Participants in this study possessed interlocking stigmatized identities and described being varying degrees of "out" across identities and time. Moreover, these findings challenge common beliefs that disclosure is a binary construct associated with positive gain.