Impact of childhood sexual abuse on risky sexual behaviors among men who have sex with men in Guangzhou / 中华疾病控制杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the experience of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Guangzhou, and to evaluate its impact on risky sexual behaviors in adulthood. Methods A non-probability sampling method was used to recruit MSM aged 18 years and over in Guangzhou. Sociodemographic characteristics, experience of CSA and risky sexual behaviors during the past 6 months were collected using an electronic questionnaire. 2 tests were used to compare the prevalence of CSA and risky sexual behaviors during the past 6 months among different sociodemographic characteristics. Logistic regressions were performed to assess the impact of CSA on risky sexual behaviors. Results Overall, 976 MSM were included with an average age of (28.35±6.83) years old. Nearly one-third (26.95%, 263/976) of MSM experienced CSA. Participants having multiple sexual partners (MSP) and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) during the past 6 months accounted for 61.68% (602/976) and 47.95% (468/976), respectively. After adjusting age, ethnicity, household registration, local residence time, marital status, education, employment status, monthly income and sexual orientation, the results of multivariate Logistic regression showed that MSM who experienced CSA were likely to have MSP during the past 6 months (aOR=1.62; 95%CI 1.19-2.22) than those did not experience CSA. But the association between UAI and CSA was not statistically significant. Conclusions The prevalence of CSA among MSM in Guangzhou is high. CSA can substantially increase the risk of risky sexual behaviors in adulthood. Intervention to reduce the risk of sexual risk behaviors may need to be tailored for MSM who experienced CSA.