Advance Care Planning Among Sexual Minority Men: Sociodemographic, Health Care, and Health Status Predictors.

Objectives: Advance care planning (ACP) specifies decision-making surrogates and preferences for serious illness or end-of-life medical care. ACP research has largely neglected sexual minority men (SMM), a population that experiences disparities in health care and health status. Methods: We examined formal and informal ACP among SMM ages 40+ in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (N = 1,071). Results: For informal ACP (50%), younger SMM and men with past cardiovascular events had greater odds of planning; single men had lower odds of planning. For formal ACP (39%), SMM with greater socioeconomic status had greater odds of planning; SMM who were younger, of racial/ethnic minority identities, who were single or in a relationship without legal protections, and who lacked a primary care home had lower odds of planning. Discussion: Findings warrant further exploration of both informal and formal planning. More equitable, culturally-humble engagement of SMM may facilitate access, uptake, and person-centered planning.

Associations of past-year stigma and psychosocial syndemic conditions: Considerations for intersectional stigma measures among Black Sexual Minority Men.

This secondary analysis of a mixed serostatus sample of Black sexual minority men (BSMM) used conditional inference tree methods to explore associations of past-year experienced stigma and psychosocial syndemic conditions. Experienced stigmas were attributed to race, sexuality, socioeconomic status, HIV status or some "other" reason. Psychosocial syndemic conditions studied included physical assault, intimate partner violence, polysubstance use, and depression symptomology. Data are from Promoting Our Worth, Equality and Resilience (POWER), a serial, cross-sectional study conducted between 2014-2017 (N=4430). Experiences of multiple stigmas were reported by n=938 (22.1%) of BSMM. Conditional inference tree results revealed that HIV-related stigma and its intersection with "other" stigma showed the greatest variance in psychosocial condition prevalence. Our findings suggest that when developing intercategorical intersectional analyses with BSMM, there are important stigmas for BSMM beyond those attributed to race, sexuality, and SES, particularly intersecting with HIV-related stigma. Conditional inference tree analysis shows promise in quantitative explorations of intersectional stigma with BSMM, but will benefit from the inclusion of additional forms of stigma, which should be considered by the field moving forward.

Effects of internalised racism and internalised homophobia on sexual behaviours among black gay and bisexual men in the USA: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Black gay and bisexual men are overburdened by HIV in the USA. While the socioecological model has been applied to understand potential mechanisms of HIV acquisition among black gay and bisexual men, there is mixed evidence on the impact of internalised stigma on HIV risk among this population. This systematic review protocol paper outlines the systematic review being conducted to determine the relationship between internalised racism, internalised homophobia and engagement in sexual behaviour, which puts individuals at risk for HIV infection. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: For the review, we will conduct a systematic review of the literature, summarise and critique published scholarly literature on the associations between forms of internalised stigma and sexual behaviours among black gay and bisexual men. We will conduct a systematic search of published qualitative and quantitative research studies published during and after 1993. The searches will be conducted in Ovid Medline, Ovid APA PsycInfo and EBSCO SocINDEX databases. Studies will be included if they were conducted in the USA, with samples that comprised African American/black cisgender gay, bisexual, queer and other men who have sex with men, measured internalised racism and/or internalised homophobia, and assessed sexual behaviour risk for HIV acquisition. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval will be required for this review. We will report our findings using the guidelines outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Findings of this review may offer new opportunities to study internalised mechanisms impacting outcomes and to identify research gaps and spur additional queries in the group most disproportionately impacted by HIV.

Grit is associated with psychological health among older sexual minority men.

Objectives: Studies have shown that grit-defined as perseverance and passion for achieving one's long-term goals-is associated with improved health outcomes, including lower levels of psychological distress. However, the psychometric properties of the original Grit Scale (Grit-O Scale) has not been validated among sexual minority men (SMM). The present study aimed to validate the Grit-O Scale among a sample of older SMM and assess the relationships between the Grit-O Scale factors and symptoms of psychological distress.Method: We used data from a single visit of participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) Healthy Aging longitudinal study. The sample included 981 older SMM (mean age = 61, SD = 8.5) with and without HIV. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to identify the two factors of the Grit-O Scale: consistency of interest and perseverance of effort. We also conducted a latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify distinct profiles of psychological distress from self-reported scales of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress.Results:The Grit-O Scale showed acceptable reliability estimates for the items with Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients ranging from 0.77 to 0.82. The CFA identified the two factors of the Grit-O Scale with acceptable model fit (root mean square error of approximation = 0.058 [95% CI = 0.050, 0.067], comparative fit index = 0.95, Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.93, standardized root mean square residual = 0.07). The LPA yielded three mutually exclusive profiles of psychological distress (profile 1: low stress, anxiety, and depression; profile 2: high stress and depression and low anxiety; and profile 3: high stress, anxiety, and depression). In adjusted multinominal logistic regression analysis, we found that both higher levels of consistency of interest and perseverance of effort factors of the Grit-O Scale were significantly associated with decreased odds of being in profiles 2 and 3 compared with being in profile 1.Conclusion: Our findings support the use of the Grit-O Scale among older SMM. Grit factors could explain variability in the negative psychological symptoms among older SMM and warrant further investigation.Supplemental data for this article is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2032594.

Longitudinal associations of relationship support and strain and internalized homophobia with mental health among middle-aged and older gay and bisexual men.

Objectives: Mental health concerns (e.g. depression, anxiety) that negatively impact gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) persist over the life course and into old age, but less is known about potential contributors to GBMSM's mental health. Close relationships can be a source of risk or resilience from stress, exerting direct relationships on mental health, and may mediate well-established associations between minority stress and mental health. This study examined whether primary partner relationship support and strain were uniquely associated with, and mediated the association between internalized homophobia, and mental health among older GBMSM.Methods: GBMSM (N = 517, M age = 60) from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, who were in primary relationships with men, provided self-report data at four timepoints. We used multilevel modeling to examine longitudinal associations among relationship support and strain and internalized homophobia with depression and anxiety.Results: Relationship strain, but not support, was positively associated with mental health concerns longitudinally. There was a significant, positive indirect effect of internalized homophobia on depression and anxiety through strain, but no support. Internalized homophobia was positively associated with relationship strain, which was positively associated with mental health symptoms longitudinally.Conclusions: Relationship strain was associated with depression and anxiety longitudinally among middle-aged and older GBMSM and mediated associations of internalized homophobia with mental health. The role of partner support warrants further investigation. Mental health interventions are critically needed for older GBMSM and, for partnered GBMSM, should include strategies for reducing relationship strain to foster well-being.

The Effect of Discrimination and Resilience on Depressive Symptoms among Middle-Aged and Older Men who have Sex with Men.

This study investigated if homophobic and racist discrimination increased depressive symptoms among 960 middle-aged and older men who have sex with men (MSM) and how resilience moderated these relationships. We used five waves of longitudinal data from the Healthy Aging sub-study of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). We used linear regression analyses to model depressive symptoms as a function of discrimination. We used linear mixed analyses to model changes in mean resilience scores across visits. We used linear regression analyses to model depressive symptoms as a function of changes in resilience and to test the moderation effects of resilience on the relationship between discrimination and depressive symptoms. The models accounted for repeated measures of resilience. Men who experienced external and internal homophobia had greater depressive symptoms (ß: 2.08; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.65, 3.51; ß: 1.60; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.76, 2.44). Men experienced significant changes in mean resilience levels across visits (F = 2.84, p = 0.02). Men with a greater positive change in resilience had lower depressive symptoms (ß: -0.95; 95% Confidence Interval: -1.47, -0.43). Men with higher average resilience levels had lower depressive symptoms (ß: -5.08; 95% Confidence Interval: -5.68, -4.49). Men's resilience did not moderate the relationship between homophobia and depressive symptoms. Significant associations of external and internal homophobia with greater depressive symptoms present targets for future research and interventions among middle-aged and older MSM. Significant associations of average and positive changes in resilience with lower depressive symptoms provide aims for future research and interventions with this population.

Biopsychosocial Health Outcomes and Experienced Intersectional Stigma in a Mixed HIV Serostatus Longitudinal Cohort of Aging Sexual Minority Men, United States, 2008‒2019.

Objectives. To determine whether intersectional stigma is longitudinally associated with biopsychosocial outcomes. Methods. We measured experienced intersectional stigma (EIS; ≥ 2 identity-related attributions) among sexual minority men (SMM) in the United States participating in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. We assessed longitudinal associations between EIS (2008‒2009) and concurrent and future hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, antiretroviral therapy adherence, HIV viremia, health care underutilization, and depression symptoms (2008‒2019). We conducted causal mediation to assess the contribution of intersectional stigma to the relationship between self-identified Black race and persistently uncontrolled outcomes. Results. The mean age (n = 1806) was 51.8 years (range = 22-84 years). Of participants, 23.1% self-identified as Black; 48.3% were living with HIV. Participants reporting EIS (30.8%) had higher odds of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, depression symptoms, health care underutilization, and suboptimal antiretroviral therapy adherence compared with participants who did not report EIS. EIS mediated the relationship between self-identified Black race and uncontrolled outcomes. Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that EIS is a durable driver of biopsychosocial health outcomes over the life course. Public Health Implications. There is a critical need for interventions to reduce intersectional stigma, help SMM cope with intersectional stigma, and enact policies protecting minoritized people from discriminatory acts. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(S4):S452-S462. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306735).

Psychological Connection to the Gay Community and Negative Self-Appraisals in Middle-Aged and Older Men Who Have Sex With Men: The Mediating Effects of Fitness Engagement.

OBJECTIVES: Connections to the gay community may elicit negative self-appraisals among men who have sex with men (MSM), which may be exacerbated for people with HIV (PWH). Fitness engagement may mediate self-appraisals by maintaining or improving appearance and health. We hypothesized that gay community connections would be positively related to negative self-appraisal and explored whether this association would be mediated by fitness engagement and moderated by HIV status. METHOD: Data were obtained from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Healthy Aging study (N = 1,026; PWH n = 525; people without HIV [PWOH] n = 501). Structural equation modeling (SEM) examined associations between gay community connections, negative self-appraisal (body image dissatisfaction, self-perception of aging), and fitness engagement (physical activity, motivation to be fit). Multiple-group SEM tested the moderating effects of HIV serostatus. RESULTS: The SEM fit the data well (root mean square error of approximation = 0.056; 90% CI: 0.046, 0.066). Connection to the gay community was inversely related to negative self-appraisals and positively related to fitness engagement. Fitness engagement mediated the association between community connections and negative self-appraisal and was inversely related to negative self-appraisals. Among PWH, the association between community connections and self-appraisal was weaker and the effect of fitness engagement on negative self-appraisal was stronger compared to PWOH. DISCUSSION: Connection to the gay community may be a source of resilience for aging MSM by lessening negative self-appraisals and promoting strategies that address body image dissatisfaction and self-perceptions of aging. Interventions facilitating connections to the gay community may support healthy aging in this population.

Evaluating the effectiveness of problem-solving courts at preventing fatal and non-fatal opioid events: preliminary findings from Indiana.

BACKGROUND: Fatal and non-fatal events associated with drug misuse are skyrocketing in most United States jurisdictions, including Indiana. Historically, the role of the judiciary is to arrest, impose sanctions and protect society from harm. Adults arrested for drug abuse in Indiana can be sentenced to 1 of 17 correctional facilities. As an alternative, they may be eligible to participate in a problem-solving court (PSC) programme that refers individuals to treatment as a pretrial diversionary strategy. The aim of the study is to determine which interventions offered by PSCs and correctional facilities impact morbidity and mortality. The study began in 2019 and will end in 2023; therefore, the results in this manuscript are preliminary. METHODS: The study cohort included two populations arrested for drug misuse: (1) adults sentenced to Indianan correctional facilities (1 January 2018 to 30 June 2021) and (2) adults participating in an Indiana PSC programme (1 January 2018 to 30 June 2021). The study used a mixed-methods design that integrated qualitative interviews of deputy wardens, PSC team members and service providers with the following quantitative datasets: sentencing information, emergency department visits, inpatient hospitalization admissions, prescription drug monitoring programme data and death records. The individuals will be followed at 2-week, 4-week, 6-month and 1-year intervals post-release. Difference-in-difference and time-to-event analyses will identify impactful interventions. A model will be created to show the effect of impactful interventions in Indiana counties that do not have PSCs. RESULTS: Findings are preliminary. There is variability amongst correctional facilities regarding programme eligibility, provided services and provision of medication-assisted treatment. All correctional facilities were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: It is anticipated that the adoption of impactful interventions will lower opioid-related morbidity and mortality rates.

Negative Perception of Aging Is Associated With Frailty Transitions Within a Cohort of Sexual Minority Men.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Older people have an increased risk of developing frailty, an age-related clinical syndrome associated with worse health outcomes. This study examined the effect of self-perception of aging (ie, age discrepancy-individuals feel younger/older than their chronological age and aging satisfaction) on frailty transitions. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We use longitudinal data from 549 HIV-/499 HIV+ sexual minority men aged 50 years or older enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. To test the association of self-perception of aging on transitions between states of frailty (nonfrail/frail), defined using Fried Frailty Phenotype, a multinomial modeling was used. RESULTS: With remaining nonfrail as the referent group, participants reporting low aging satisfaction (vs moderate aging satisfaction) had increased odds of transitioning from nonfrail to frail (odds ratio [OR]: 2.72; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.56-4.74), frail to nonfrail (OR: 3.40; 95% CI: 1.62-7.12), or remaining frail (frail to frail; OR: 6.64; 95% CI: 3.88-11.38). Participants reporting older subjective age (vs no age discrepancy) had increased odds of transitioning from nonfrail to frail (OR: 2.50; 95% CI: 1.11-5.64), frail to nonfrail (OR: 4.47; 95% CI: 1.85-10.81), or remaining frail (frail to frail; OR: 5.68; 95% CI: 3.06-10.56). High aging satisfaction and younger subjective age were not statistically associated with frailty transitions. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our findings show that negative self-perception of aging (ie, older subjective age and low aging satisfaction) is associated with frailty transitions (nonfrail to frail, frail to nonfrail, and frail to frail) when compared to remaining nonfrail.

Understanding Patterns of Healthy Aging Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for an Observational Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: With the graying of sexual and gender minority communities and the growing number of people aged ≥50 years living with HIV, it is increasingly important to understand resilience in the context of the psychosocial aspects of aging and aging well. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to describe the methods and sample for the Understanding Patterns of Healthy Aging Among Men Who Have Sex With Men study. METHODS: This observational cohort study was conducted within the Multisite AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) and was designed to explore resiliencies to explain patterns of health and illness among middle-aged and older sexual minority men. To be eligible, a participant had to be an active participant in the MACS, be at least 40 years of age as of April 1, 2016, and report any sex with another man since enrollment in the MACS. RESULTS: Eligible participants (N=1318) completed six biannual surveys between April 2016 and April 2019. The mean age of the sample was 59.6 years (range 40-91 years). The sample was mostly White, educated, gay-identified, and included both HIV-positive (656/1318, 49.77%) and HIV-negative (662/1318, 50.23%) men. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding resiliencies in aging is a critical springboard for the development of more holistic public health theories and interventions that support healthy aging among older sexual minority men. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR1-10.2196/25750.

Social-environmental resiliencies protect against loneliness among HIV-Positive and HIV- negative older men who have sex with men: Results from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS).

RATIONALE: Loneliness is associated with negative health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, dementia, physical functional decline, depression, and increased mortality risk, among HIV- positive and HIV-negative older men who have sex with men (MSM). Given these negative health outcomes, it is imperative to identify factors that minimize loneliness in these vulnerable groups. OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine whether social-environmental resiliencies-defined as an individual's level of support, social bonding, and psychological sense of community among gay men-buffer against symptoms of loneliness. METHOD: We analyzed longitudinal data from 1,255 older MSM with and without HIV infection, all of whom were enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Using longitudinal latent class analysis (LLCA), we identified three underlying classes (Social Connectors, Non-community Connectors, and Social Isolates) in the social environment of the sample. We assessed the prevalence of loneliness by these latent classes. By lagging social environmental factors over time, we were able to examine the temporal relationships between latent classes and subsequent loneliness. RESULTS: Consistent with our hypothesis, multivariate associations revealed that compared to Social Connectors with high levels of social support and social bonding and a strong perceived sense of community among gay men, Social Isolates (Prevalence Ratio (PR): 1.42; 95% CI: 1.08-1.88; p = 0.0120) and Non-community Connectors (PR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.03-1.75; p = 0.0322) were more likely to experience loneliness after adjustment for covariates and baseline loneliness. There were no differences by HIV status. CONCLUSIONS: These longitudinal data allowed us to make causal inferences related to the social environmental resiliencies lowering the odds of loneliness among HIV-positive and HIV-negative older MSM. Developing individual- and community-level tailored interventions for these populations by leveraging social environmental resiliencies is key to reducing loneliness and promoting health.

Self-perception of aging among HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study.

Self-perception of aging is an important predictor of quality of life. Therefore, we sought to examine self-perceptions of aging (age discrepancy and aging satisfaction) between HIV-positive and HIV-negative men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). We included 835 HIV-negative and 784 HIV-positive men aged 50 years and older who had completed a survey about age discrepancy and aging satisfaction from the "Attitude toward own aging" subscale of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale scale. Multinomial generalized logit models were generated to assess self-perception of aging by HIV-status. Most of the participants self-identified as white, former smokers, and had completed high school. HIV-positive individuals reported higher prevalence of comorbidities than HIV-negative individuals. After adjusting for covariates, positive age discrepancy (older subjective age) was positively associated with being HIV-positive and having less than a high school education, depressive symptoms, diabetes, and medium and low aging satisfaction. Low aging satisfaction was associated with being a current and former smoker and having depressive symptoms, diabetes, and no age and positive age discrepancy. Being black had decreased odds of low aging satisfaction. These findings should inform health care professionals to promote positive views of aging in the assessment and management of HIV, depression, and diabetes.

For Better or for Worse? A Systematic Review of the Evidence on Social Media Use and Depression Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Minorities.

BACKGROUND: Over 90% of adults in the United States have at least one social media account, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons are more socially active on social media than heterosexuals. Rates of depression among LGB persons are between 1.5- and 2-fold higher than those among their heterosexual counterparts. Social media allows users to connect, interact, and express ideas, emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Thus, social media use might represent both a protective and a risk factor for depression among LGB persons. Studying the nature of the relationship between social media use and depression among LGB individuals is a necessary step to inform public health interventions for this population. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize and critique the evidence on social media use and depression among LGB populations. METHODS: We conducted a literature search for quantitative and qualitative studies published between January 2003 and June 2017 using 3 electronic databases. Articles were included if they were peer-reviewed, were in English, assessed social media use either quantitatively or qualitatively, measured depression, and focused on LGB populations. A minimum of two authors independently extracted data from each study using an a priori developed abstraction form. We assessed appropriate reporting of studies using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology and the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research for quantitative and qualitative studies, respectively. RESULTS: We included 11 articles in the review; 9 studies were quantitative and cross-sectional and 2 were qualitative. Appropriate reporting of results varied greatly. Across quantitative studies, we found heterogeneity in how social media use was defined and measured. Cyberbullying was the most studied social media experience and was associated with depression and suicidality. Qualitative studies found that while social media provides a space to disclose minority experiences and share ways to cope and get support, constant surveillance of one's social media profile can become a stressor, potentially leading to depression. In most studies, sexual minority participants were identified inconsistently. CONCLUSIONS: This review supports the need for research on the role of social media use on depression outcomes among LBG persons. Using social media may be both a protective and a risk factor for depression among LGB individuals. Support gained via social media may buffer the impact of geographic isolation and loneliness. Negative experiences such as cyberbullying and other patterns of use may be associated with depression. Future research would benefit from more consistent definitions of both social media use and study populations. Moreover, use of larger samples and accounting for patterns of use and individuals' experiences on social media may help better understand the factors that impact LGB mental health disparities.

Neighborhood Contexts and Marijuana Use Among Urban Dwelling Emerging Adult Men.

Neighborhoods are key socio-environmental contexts for marijuana use during emerging adulthood. This study examined the relationships between neighborhood context, traditional masculine norms (status, toughness, and anti-femininity), and marijuana use among 119 majority African American emerging adult men in a small urban community. Poisson regression models were used to determine the associations between neighborhood problems, social cohesion, and marijuana use. Moderator effects were examined to determine if masculinities modified these associations. Neighborhood problems and social cohesion were positively associated with marijuana use. Men who had a lower endorsement of some traditional masculine norms had greater marijuana use compared to men with a higher endorsement of these norms. These findings have implications for intervention strategies and policies.

Reconciling Epidemiology and Social Justice in the Public Health Discourse Around the Sexual Networks of Black Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Several studies have implicated the sexual networks of Black men who have sex with men (MSM) as facilitating disproportionally high rates of new HIV infections within this community. Although structural disparities place these networks at heightened risk for infection, HIV prevention science continues to describe networks as the cause for HIV disparities, rather than an effect of structures that pattern infection. We explore the historical relationship between public health and Black MSM, arguing that the current articulation of Black MSM networks is too often incomplete and counterproductive. Public health can offer a counternarrative that reconciles epidemiology with the social justice that informs our discipline, and that is required for an effective response to the epidemic among Black MSM.

Curriculum development to increase minority research literacy for HIV prevention research: a CBPR approach.

BACKGROUND: Minority engagement in HIV prevention research can improve the process and products of research. Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) to develop capacity-building tools can promote community awareness of HIV prevention, clinical research, and community roles in research. OBJECTIVES: We sought to describe a CBPR approach to curriculum development to increase HIV prevention research literacy among Blacks ages 18 to 30. METHODS: Community members and researchers documented the iterative and participatory nature of curriculum development and lessons learned.Results/Lessons Learned: We used specific strategies to support and verify multi-stakeholder engagement, team building, capacity building, and shared decision making. Objective or formal assessments of baseline capacity, ongoing stakeholder engagement, and reinforcing the value of multiple perspectives can promote further equity in curriculum development between researchers and community members. CONCLUSIONS: The iterative process of shared discussion, development, and consensus building strengthened collaboration between stakeholder groups and produced a stronger, more culturally appropriate curriculum to promote HIV prevention research engagement among young Blacks.