Homophobia In Gay, Bisexual Men Increases Their Risk Of HIV

Attitudes about homosexuality vary greatly across Europe. However, gay and bisexual men living in European countries with strong attitudes against homosexuality are far less likely to use HIV-prevention services, test for HIV and/or discuss their sexuality with health care providers.

Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) looked to investigate the impact of homophobia on gay and bisexual men's health, including their use of HIV-prevention services.

During the study, researchers used data from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS), a joint project of academic, governmental, non-governmental, and online media partners from 35 European countries. EMIS is a 25-language study that's assessed HIV-related knowledge, behaviors, and health-service use among 174,000 gay and bisexual men when combined to the EMIS data with a measure of country-level laws, policies and social attitudes toward homosexuality.

Based on the country, researchers found stark differences concerning the views and treatment of homosexuality and thus, the use of HIV-prevention services and tests for the health issue. They also noted a heightened risk of disease for gay and bisexual men in homophobic countries, where prevention services were oftentimes limited.

"Our findings suggest that rather than primarily being the result of personal failure, HIV risk is largely determined by national laws, policies, and attitudes toward homosexuality," said Pachankis. "This study shows that gay and bisexual men in homophobic countries are denied the resources, including psychological resources like open self-expression, that are necessary to stay healthy."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal AIDS.

Related Articles

Chronic Stress Leads Lesbian and Gay Teens to Binge Drink

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).