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. 2021 Mar;26(3):465-476.
doi: 10.1177/1359105318820101. Epub 2019 Jan 1.

Intersectional internalized stigma among Black gay and bisexual men: A longitudinal analysis spanning HIV/sexually transmitted infection diagnosis

Valerie A Earnshaw  1 , Natalie M Reed  1 , Ryan J Watson  2 , Jessica L Maksut  2 , Aerielle M Allen  2 , Lisa A Eaton  2
Affiliations

Intersectional internalized stigma among Black gay and bisexual men: A longitudinal analysis spanning HIV/sexually transmitted infection diagnosis

Valerie A Earnshaw et al. J Health Psychol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Internalized stigma undermines health among people diagnosed with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI), yet limited research has examined how internalized stigma develops. Black gay and bisexual men (n = 151) reported their race and sexual orientation internalized stigma once before HIV/STI diagnosis and their HIV/STI internalized stigma monthly for 1 year after HIV/STI diagnosis. Multilevel analyses demonstrated that race and sexual orientation internalized stigma before diagnosis were associated with greater HIV/STI internalized stigma after diagnosis. More research is needed to understand how internalized stigma develops, including within the context of other identities and broader environmental characteristics to inform intervention efforts.

Keywords: African American; HIV; LGBTQ; sexually transmitted infection; stigma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Scatterplot of association between time and HIV/STI internalized stigma in first year after diagnosis, with fitted LOESS curve.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Interaction between effect of race and sexual orientation internalized stigma on HIV/STI internalized stigma in first year after diagnosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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