Roles of Social Capital in the Association Between Internalized Homophobia and Condomless Sex Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Southwest China: A Four-Way Decomposition

• Published in: International journal of public health Vol. 68; p. 1605202
• Main Authors: Yu, Bin, Feng, Chuanteng, Yang, Xue, Wang, Zixin, Zou, Huachun, Jia, Peng, Yang, Shujuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 20.01.2023
• Subjects: condomless sex; Cross-Sectional Studies; HIV Infections; Homophobia; Homosexuality, Male; Humans; internalized homophobia; Male; mediation effect; men who have sex with men; Public Health Archive; Risk-Taking; Sexual and Gender Minorities; Sexual Behavior; Social Capital; Unsafe Sex; mediation effect; social capital; internalized homophobia; men who have sex with men; condomless sex
• ISSN: 1661-8564; 1661-8556; 1661-8564
• DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1605202

Objectives: This study examined whether social capital (SC) mediated the association between internalized homophobia (IH) and condomless sex among men who have sex with men (MSM), with the interaction of SC and IH considered. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2018 and April 2019 in Sichuan Province, China. A total of 540 participants were recruited to investigate their IH, SC, and condomless sex. A four-way decomposition of causal mediation analysis was used to test SC’s roles in the association between IH and condomless sex. Results: Condomless sex was prevalent (46.7%) among the participants, which was significantly associated with IH [odds ratio (OR) = 1.70] and SC (OR = 0.55). A direct effect [excess risk ratio (RR = 0.32)] and an indirect effect (excess RR = 0.16) of SC were found to be significant in the association between IH and condomless sex. Heterogeneities in effects were observed when taking the SC’s domains (e.g., individual and family-based SC) as mediators. SC’s effects were significant only in the homosexual subgroup. Conclusion: IH-based intervention with consideration of SC can be tailored to MSM to decrease condomless sex and curb the spread of HIV, especially for the homosexual subgroup.