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The Associations of Resilience and HIV Risk Behaviors Among Black Gay, Bisexual, Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in the Deep South: The MARI Study

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Abstract

Resilience is an understudied intrapersonal factor that may reduce HIV risk among men who have sex with men (MSM). Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate the prevalence ratio (PR) of sexual risk behaviors, HIV prevalence, and history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with resilience scores in a population-based study among 364 black MSM in the Deep South. Participants with higher resilience scores had a lower prevalence of condomless anal sex with casual sexual partners in past 12 months (PR = 0.80, p value = 0.001) and during their last sexual encounter (PR = 0.81; p value = 0.009). Resilience was inversely associated with a lower prevalence of condomless anal sex with main sexual partners, participating in a sex party/orgy and having a STI in the past 12 months. Resilience may have a protective effect on HIV among black MSM, especially in the Deep South, and should be further explored in studies with prospective designs.

Resumen

La resistencia es un factor intrapersonal que ha sido poco estudiado que puede reducir el riesgo de VIH entre los hombres que tienen sex con hombres (HSH). Modelos de regresión multivariable de Posesión han sido utilizado para estimar el ratio de prevalencia (RP) de los comportamientos sexuales, la prevalencia de VIH, y la historia de infección de transmisión sexual (ITS) en comparación con los resultados de resistencia en un estudio basado en la población entre 364 HSH negros en los estados del sureste de los EEUU. Los participantes con mayor resistencia tuvieron una prevalencia menor de tener sexo anal sin un condón con una pareja sexual casual en los últimos 12 meses (PR = 0.80; p = 0.001) y en su último encuentro sexual (PR = 0.81; p = 0.009). La resistencia fue inversamente asociado con una prevalencia baja de sexo anal sin condón con una pareja sexual principal, participando en una orgía y si tiene un ITS en los últimos 12 meses. La resistencia puede que tenga un efecto protector de VIH con la población HSH negros, especialmente en los estados del sureste de los EEUU, y debe estar mejor investigado con investigaciones prospectivas.

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Acknowledgements

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The authors gratefully thank The MARI Study participants for their time and participation in the study as none of this would be possible without them. The authors also thank Dr. Matthew Mimiaga who reviewed an earlier draft of this manuscript and provided critical feedback.

Funding

This study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Minority HIV/AIDS Research Initiative (Cooperative Agreement: U01PS003315). This work was also supported, in part, by a Grant from the National Institutes of Health (PI: Nunn, Flanigan; MH083620).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research, Evaluation, and Environmental Policy Change, My Brother’s Keeper Inc., 510 George Street - Suite 100, Jackson, MS, 39202, USA

    Obie S. McNair & DeMarc A. Hickson

  2. Center for Community-Based Programs, My Brother’s Keeper Inc., Ridgeland, MS, USA

    June A. Gipson

  3. Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Damian Denson & Madeline Y. Sutton

  4. National AIDS Education and Services for Minorities, Inc., Atlanta, GA, USA

    Darwin V. Thompson

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  1. Obie S. McNair
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Correspondence to Obie S. McNair.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that he/she has no conflict of interest. Damian Denson and Madeline Sutton are employees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The views expressed are their own and do not represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the United States Government.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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McNair, O.S., Gipson, J.A., Denson, D. et al. The Associations of Resilience and HIV Risk Behaviors Among Black Gay, Bisexual, Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in the Deep South: The MARI Study. AIDS Behav 22, 1679–1687 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1881-8

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