Rutgers School of Public Health, One Riverfront Plaza, Suite 1020 (10th Floor), Newark, NJ, 07102-0301, USA.
Us Helping Us, People Into Living, Inc., Washington, DC, USA.
Arch Sex Behav. 2020 Jul;49(5):1799-1809. doi: 10.1007/s10508-020-01647-5. Epub 2020 Mar 28.
Although racial sexual exclusivity among Black gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men (SMM) is frequently framed as a cause of HIV inequities, little research has examined how these sexual relationships may be driven by and protective against racism. This study examined associations between general racial discrimination, Black sexual exclusivity, sexual racial discrimination, and depressive symptoms among Black SMM. We conducted analyses on cross-sectional self-report data from 312 cisgender Black SMM in the U.S. Deep South who participated in the MARI study. Measures included general racial and sexual identity discrimination, race/ethnicity of sexual partners, sexual racial discrimination, and depressive symptoms. We estimated a moderated-mediation model with associations from discrimination to Black sexual exclusivity, moderated by discrimination target, from Black sexual exclusivity to sexual racial discrimination, and from sexual racial discrimination to depressive symptoms. We tested an indirect effect from racial discrimination to depressive symptoms to examine whether Black sexual exclusivity functioned as an intervening variable in the associations between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. Results indicated that participants who experienced racial discrimination were more likely to exclusively have sex with Black men. Men with higher Black sexual exclusivity were less likely to experience sexual racial discrimination and, in turn, reported lower depressive symptoms. The indirect pathway from racial discrimination to depressive symptoms through Black sexual exclusivity and sexual racial discrimination was significant. Our results suggest that one of the drivers of sexual exclusivity among Black SMM may be that it helps to protect against the caustic psychological effects of racial discrimination.
尽管黑人社群中的男同性恋、双性恋和其他性少数群体（SMM）的种族性行为排他性经常被认为是导致 HIV 不平等的原因，但很少有研究探讨这些性关系如何受到种族主义的驱动和保护。本研究调查了美国南部黑人性少数群体男性（SMM）中普遍的种族歧视、黑人性行为排他性、性种族歧视与抑郁症状之间的关联。我们对参与 MARI 研究的 312 名美国南部黑人性少数群体男性（SMM）的横断面自我报告数据进行了分析。测量包括一般种族和性身份歧视、性伴侣的种族/民族、性种族歧视和抑郁症状。我们估计了一个调节中介模型，其中歧视与黑人性行为排他性之间的关联受到歧视目标的调节，从黑人性行为排他性到性种族歧视的关联，以及从性种族歧视到抑郁症状的关联。我们测试了种族歧视与抑郁症状之间的间接效应，以检验黑人性行为排他性是否在种族歧视与抑郁症状之间的关联中起中介变量的作用。结果表明，经历种族歧视的参与者更有可能与黑人男性进行性行为排他性。黑人性行为排他性较高的男性不太可能经历性种族歧视，因此报告的抑郁症状较低。种族歧视通过黑人性行为排他性和性种族歧视对抑郁症状的间接途径具有统计学意义。我们的研究结果表明，黑人性少数群体男性性行为排他性的一个驱动因素可能是，它有助于保护他们免受种族歧视的恶劣心理影响。
