Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Emerging Adult Sexual Minority Men: Implications for Assessment and Treatment of Childhood Sexual Abuse

• Published in: Journal of traumatic stress 2018-10, Vol.31 (5), p.665-675
• Main Authors: Boroughs, Michael S., Ehlinger, Peter P., Batchelder, Abigail W., Safren, Steven A., O'Cleirigh, Conall
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - psychology; Alcohol; Child; Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology; Child sexual abuse; Childhood; Cocaine; Evaluation; Health behavior; Health risks; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Life transitions; Male; Marijuana; Men; Mental health; Panic attacks; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Risk behavior; Sex crimes; Sexual and Gender Minorities - psychology; Sexual behavior; Sexually transmitted diseases; Sick role; STD; Stress; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology; Substance abuse; Substance-Related Disorders - etiology; Traditional societies; Trauma; Unsafe Sex - psychology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0894-9867; 1573-6598
• DOI: 10.1002/jts.22335

Emerging adulthood (EA) is a developmental period marked by unique challenges that affect health including burgeoning occupational, relational, and financial stability; and increased risk taking in terms of sexual behavior(s) and substance use. Data were collected from 296 HIV‐uninfected sexual minority men with childhood sexual abuse (CSA) histories. We analyzed baseline assessment data from a multisite randomized controlled trial that tested the efficaciousness of an experimental psychosocial treatment and examined vulnerabilities known to be linked with CSA. Our analyses compared EA sexual minority men, aged 18–29, with older sexual minority men (OSMM) on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health and substance use outcomes. We found higher odds of PTSD, odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% CI [0.33, 0.96]; panic disorder or panic disorder with agoraphobia, OR = 0.36, 95% CI [0.16, 0.85]; and cocaine use, OR = 0.50, 95% CI [0.25, 0.97], among OSMM and higher odds of alcohol intoxication, OR = 5.60, 95% CI [3.20, 9.82]; cannabis use, OR = 3.09, 95% CI [1.83, 5.21]; and non‐HIV sexually transmitted infections, OR = 3.03, 95% CI [1.29, 7.13], among the EA men. These results present a complex picture of health risks among sexual minority men in general and EA sexual minority men in particular. HIV seroconversion linked health risk behaviors, among sexual minority men, may be better addressed via increased attention to treating trauma and comorbid mental health and substance use problems using evidence‐based psychosocial assessments and integrated treatment platforms that are tailored to this population. Resumen Spanish s by Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET) Trauma entre Hombres de Minorías Sexuales Adultas Emergentes: Implicanciones para la Evaluación y el Tratamiento del Abuso Sexual Infantil HOMBRES DE MINORIA SEXUAL Y TRAUMA La adultez emergente (AE) es un período de desarrollo marcado por desafíos únicos que afectan la salud, que incluye la creciente estabilidad ocupacional, relacional y financiera; y un incremento en la toma de riesgos en términos de comportamiento(s) sexual(es) y uso de sustancias. Los datos fueron recogidos de historias de 296 hombres de minorías sexuales, no infectados por VIH, con antecedentes de abuso sexual infantil (ASI). Se analizaron los datos de una evaluación de referencia de la Fase‐III de un ensayo controlado aleatorio de múltiples sitios que probó la eficacia de un tratamiento psicosocial experimenta