ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the experience of child sexual abuse (CSA) and depressive symptoms among young men who sex with men (YMSM) in Guangzhou, and then to explore the impact of CSA on depressive symptoms.@*Methods@#A convenient sampling method was used to recruit MSM. YMSM who aged 18-24 and have lived in Guangzhou for more than 3 months were included in this study. Data on demographic characteristics, homosexual partners seeking behaviors, sexual orientation, CSA experience and depression were collected through an electronic questionnaire. χ 2 tests were used to compare the proportion of CSA and depressive symptoms among YMSM with different characteristics. Logistic regressions were preformed to assess the impact of CSA on depression.@*Results@#The proportion of CSA experience and depressive symptoms among participants were 31.51% (115/365) and 47.95% (175/365), respectively. Participants with junior high school education or lower and who sought homosexual partners offline reported(75.00%,62.22%) a higher proportion of depressive symptoms( χ 2=7.97，4.19， P <0.05). After adjusting for factors e.g. ethnicity, residence, resident duration in Guangzhou, studentship, education, monthly income, sexual orientation and homosexual partners seeking behaviors, the multivariable Logistic regression model showed that YMSM with CSA experience (a OR=1.81, 95%CI =1.12-2.93) were more likely to have depressive symptoms than those without CSA experience.@*Conclusion@#The prevalence of CSA experience and depressive symptom is relatively high among YMSM in Guangzhou, and CSA experience is associated with higher risk of depressive symptoms. More attention should be paid to strengthen the psychological intervention for YMSM, especially for those who experienced CSA, so as to reduce the risk of depression and improve mental health among YMSM.