Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan;26(Suppl 1):125-137.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03333-6. Epub 2021 Jun 12.

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

Abigail W Batchelder  1   2   3 , Claire Burgess  4   5 , Jacob Perlson  6   7 , Conall O'Cleirigh  8   4   6
Affiliations

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

Abigail W Batchelder et al. AIDS Behav. 2022 Jan.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

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.

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.

Keywords: Discrimination; HIV; MSM; Stigma; Substance use.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. HIV and gay and bisexual men | HIV by group | HIV/AIDS | CDC [Internet]. 2018. [cited 2019 Jul 26]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/msm/index.html
    1. CDC. Estimated HIV incidence and prevalence in the United States, 2014–2018. HIV Surveillance Supplemental Report 2020. [Internet]. 2020. [cited 2020 Dec 13]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html.
    1. Cochran SD, Ackerman D, Mays VM, Ross MW. Prevalence of non-medical drug use and dependence among homosexually active men and women in the US population. Addiction. 2004. Aug;99(8):989–98. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cochran SD, Mays VM. Burden of psychiatric morbidity among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in the California Quality of Life Survey. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2009;118(3):647–58. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amirkhanian YA, Kelly JA, DiFranceisco WJ, Kuznetsova AV, Tarima SS, Yakovlev AA, et al. Predictors of HIV care engagement, antiretroviral medication adherence, and viral suppression among people living with HIV infection in St. Petersburg, Russia. AIDS Behav. 2018;22(3):791–9. - PMC - PubMed