José Toro-Alfonso

Domestic Violence in Puerto Rican Gay Male Couples Perceived Prevalence, Intergenerational Violence, Addictive Behaviors, and Conflict Resolution Skills

Domestic violence (DV) is a pattern of behaviors in the context of an intimate relationship, which can be manifested in emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. DV currently represents a social and a public health issue. This study is an effort to foster a better understanding of DV among same-sex couples. In it, the authors included the participation of 199 Puerto Rican gay males to identify prevalence of DV, violence in their family of origin, participants’ addictive behaviors and exposure to violence at childhood, and their conflict resolution skills. Participants were relatively young, highly educated Puerto Rican gay men who reported a high level of domestic violence in their relationships. This violence was identified as emotional violence by 48% of the participants. This sample reported high levels of violence among their families of origin and low conflict resolution skills.

Gender as an Obstacle in HIV/AIDS Prevention: Considerations for the Development of HIV/AIDS Prevention Efforts for Male-to-Female Transgenders

SUMMARY Social discourses regarding gender are responsible for molding peoples cognitions, perceptions, behaviors, and interactions with others. Approaching and understanding gender socialization is an important strategy that must be included in the development of HIV/AIDS prevention intervention efforts targeting male-to-female (MTF) transgender people. This paper represents an effort to identify the influence of gender construction among a group of MTF transgenders in Puerto Rico. Using combined methodology, authors examined results from a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of MTF transgenders living in the San Juan metropolitan area. Quantitative analysis demonstrated that this sample is composed of young, unemployed, and undereducated population. Many participated in the sex industry. Participants reported need for basic health and social services and alienation from social networks. Qualitative analysis confirmed their traditional social construction of the “feminine.” Their discourse underlines their need to reinforce their identity by the construction of a female self which undermines their possibilities for negotiating safer sex, as happens to most females in Latino societies. Social vulnerability, institutional exclusion, and gender construction issues are obstacles for the HIV prevention efforts among these communities.

Description of a domestic violence measure for Puerto Rican gay males.

Abstract A sample of 302 Puerto Rican gay males living in Puerto Rico and New York participated in this study with the objective of assessing the prevalence of domestic violence. A self-administered questionnaire was developed addressing issues of intergenerational violence, addictive behaviors, and domestic violence in three dimensions: emotional, physical, and sexual violence. The results concluded that close to half of the participants had experienced some sort of violence in their intimate relationships, have a history of being witness to domestic violence in their family of origin, and had identified in themselves and their families, addictive behaviors. Other variables measured are HIV and sexual coercion, drug and alcohol abuse, and levels of acculturation among participants living in the United States. The main objective of this work is to describe the development of the instrument used in the study. Based on the results of this study we describe the psychometric characteristics and content of the final questionnaire. Final recommendations are made for other researchers interested in doing domestic violence studies with Latino gay men and men who have sex with men.

Sexual Coercion in a Sample of Puerto Rican Gay Males

Abstract Sexual coercion as part of the cycle of domestic violence represents a serious threat for HIV infection among partners in general, and gay and bisexual men in particular. This study examined the experiences of Puerto Rican gay men with domestic violence and sexual coercion in the context of the HIV epidemic. A self-administered questionnaire was obtained from a sample of 302 Puerto Rican gay males, 49% of whom reported having a steady partner. Forty-eight percent (48%) reported experiences of emotional violence in their relationships, 26% reported physical violence, and 27% reported sexual violence. There was a positive correlation between being anally penetrated without a condom, the need to please the partner, and being HIV positive. Findings suggest that the manner in which violence is constructed and perceived in men may be related to vulnerability for violence and possibly HIV infection.

El Estado Actual de la Investigación Sobre la Discriminación Sexual

En la medida en que el mundo se ha globalizado y las fronteras parecen ser cada vez mas difusas, pareciera que algunos sectores de la sociedad tienen la necesidad de acentuar las diferencias y poner distancia de esas diferencias. Esto parece observarse en los niveles de exclusion y rechazo que reciben las personas que pertenecen a las comunidades de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y transgeneros. Desde una perspectiva de las practicas basadas en evidencia y de los derechos humanos, este articulo presenta el estado actual de las investigaciones sobre la discriminacion sexual. La homofobia individual e institucionalizada sirve como base central de la discriminacion. Se discute la transgresion del genero como elemento fundamental para justificar el odio y la discriminacion que puede llevar al homicidio. Se plantea la necesidad de que desde la psicologia se desarrollen estandares eticos para las intervenciones en estas comunidades.