Pawar Neil, Sawant Neena, Acharya Shrikala M
Department of Psychiatry, Seth GSMC and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Department of Community Medicine, Seth GSMC and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Ind Psychiatry J. 2025 May-Aug;34(2):273-278. doi: 10.4103/ipj.ipj_488_24. Epub 2025 Jul 18.
Research has shown a high prevalence of mental health disorders in homosexuals with high risk-taking behavior. Sexual minority groups are often prey to many psychosocial stressors such as harassment, victimization, and fear of rejection.
To understand the occurrence of psychiatric morbidity, risk-taking behavior, stigma, and social support in the men having sex with men (MSM) population and correlate its relation with each other.
One hundred participants were selected via randomized sample selection from the existing list of registered MSM accessing services from MDACS, and a detailed psychiatric interview was taken with diagnoses as per ICD10 criteria. Measure of Internalized Sexual Stigma Scale and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were applied for further evaluation.
Forty-eight study participants had psychiatric morbidity with substance use and mood disorders being more common. High risk-taking behavior was found to be less in the sample. Internalized stigma was high on identity and social discomfort subscale. The total mean MISS-G score was found to be 35.64 ± 35.57. Social support was more from significant others. MSPSS scale had a total mean score of 58.59 ± 20. There was a negative correlation between stigma and social support. Psychiatric morbidity was associated with high stigma and poor social support.
This study shows that MSM is at higher risk for psychiatric illnesses like depression and internalized sexual stigma. The social support experienced by them is also poor. Hence, there is a need to spread awareness and address the mental health issues of this minority.
研究表明，有高风险行为的同性恋者中精神健康障碍的患病率很高。性少数群体经常受到许多心理社会压力源的影响，如骚扰、受害和害怕被拒绝。
了解男男性行为者（MSM）人群中精神疾病的发生情况、冒险行为、耻辱感和社会支持情况，并将它们之间的关系相互关联起来。
从MDACS登记的使用服务的MSM现有名单中通过随机抽样选择100名参与者，并根据ICD10标准进行详细的精神科访谈以做出诊断。应用内化性耻辱量表和多维感知社会支持量表进行进一步评估。
48名研究参与者患有精神疾病，物质使用和情绪障碍更为常见。样本中发现高风险行为较少。在身份认同和社会不适子量表上，内化耻辱感较高。发现MISS-G总分平均为35.64±35.57。社会支持更多来自重要他人。MSPSS量表的总平均分是58.59±20。耻辱感与社会支持之间存在负相关。精神疾病与高耻辱感和低社会支持有关。
本研究表明，男男性行为者患抑郁症等精神疾病以及内化性耻辱感的风险较高。他们获得的社会支持也很差。因此，有必要提高认识并解决这一少数群体的心理健康问题。
