Melva Thompson-Robinson

Examining the Relationships Between Religiosity, Spirituality, Internalized Homonegativity, and Condom Use Among African American Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Deep South.

The Sexual Health in Faith Traditions Study evaluated the relationships between religiosity, spirituality, internalized homonegativity, and sexual risk behaviors among a sample of African American men who have sex with men living in the Deep South. Participants were recruited primarily from Black Gay Pride celebrations to complete a self-administered, paper-and-pencil survey. Structural equation modeling was used to determine relationships between key constructs and condom use for insertive (n = 285) and receptive (n = 263) anal intercourse in the past 3 months. Almost half of respondents reported using condoms “every time” when engaging in insertive (48.3%) or receptive (45.1%) anal intercourse. Religiosity and spirituality were differentially associated with dimensions of internalized homonegativity. While no significant direct relationships were reported between either religiosity or spirituality and condom use, dimensions of internalized homonegativity mediated significant indirect relationships. Findings suggest that religiosity and spirituality influence African American men who have sex with men’s internalized homonegativity and, subsequently, engagement in safer sex behaviors.

Different Dimensions: Internalized Homonegativity Among African American Men Who Have Sex With Men in the Deep South

ABSTRACT This study examined the psychometric properties of the Internalized Homonegativity Inventory (IHNI) among African American men who have sex with men (AAMSM) in the southeastern United States. Data from 261 AAMSM were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Results showed evidence of a two-factor solution: personal and moral homonegativity and gay affirmation. Internal consistencies were greater than .80, and correlations with other variables (e.g., sociodemographics, religiosity, masculinity) provided evidence of validity. Findings suggesting a two-factor instead of a three-factor solution may indicate that the IHNI manifests differently for AAMSM in the Deep South than for predominantly White MSM. Further research should examine how incorporating new conceptions of internalized homonegativity into culturally specific health-promotion interventions for AAMSM might enhance effectiveness.

Acceptability of an Adapted HIV Prevention Intervention for Native American Adolescents

Relatively few HIV evidence-based interventions (EBIs) among Native Americans have been developed, adapted, evaluated, and/or published in the scientific literature. An adolescent HIV EBI was adapted in three phases: (1) securing input from a Native American Advisory Board; (2) modifying the EBI to be more consistent with Native American culture; and (3) conducing a pilot with 14 Native American adolescents to examine acceptability and cultural congruence between the adapted intervention and the youths culture based on Likert-scale ratings and a focus group. The adaptations included diverse Native American social and cultural stories that assisted with responsible decision-making skills. The adolescents consistently rated each intervention session as highly acceptable. A difference in knowledge from pre-survey (M = 13.93, SD = 3.08) to post-survey (M = 17.14, SD = 2.25) was statistically significant; t(13) = 4.166, p < .0005. The adapted curriculum did appear culturally responsive based on the pilot test results.