Validation of Sexual Identity Stigma Metrics for Men Who Have Sex with Men | Center for Public Health and Human Rights

Project Dates: 2016

Principal Investigator: Stefan Baral

Co-Investigator: Shauna Stahlman

Description: This proposed study seeks to leverage existing datasets to examine the role of sexual behavior stigma on access to HIV healthcare and sexual health outcomes among men who have sex with men (MSM) in selected Sub-Saharan African contexts and in the US. Data will be drawn from several respondent-driven sampling studies conducted in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal, Swaziland, Togo, and from the American Men’s Internet Survey. We will develop validated sexual behavior stigma metrics using factor analyses to determine key underlying domains of stigma. Further, we will test mediated associations of sexual behavior stigma with outcomes of HIV infection, viral load suppression, and sexual risk behaviors using structural equation modeling. Variations in results from either the factor analyses or the structural equation models will be explored by region.