Abstract

Introduction

Depression and other adverse mental health outcomes are prevalent among Black men who have sex with men (BMSM). Social support can be protective against symptoms of depression, the effects of which may be amplified by experiences of a shared social identity.

Methods

We explored the associations between BMSM-specific social support and depressive symptoms among a sample of 280 BMSM. We used chi-square and t-tests to examine bivariate associations between social support, depressive symptoms, and key correlates, and logistic regression to adjust the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms.

Results

Most participants reported high (43.2%) or moderate (41.8%) levels of BMSM-specific social support, 38% reported depressive symptoms, and 47.6% were living with HIV. Adjusting for socioeconomic and structural vulnerabilities, health, and involvement in the gay community, high social support was associated with a marginal decrease in the odds of depressive symptoms compared to low social support.

Conclusions

Results indicate that BMSM-specific social support is protective against depressive symptoms even in the context of other socioeconomic and structural vulnerabilities, suggesting that strengths-based interventions focused on building community and mutual support among BMSM may be valuable tools to prevent depression and promote positive mental health outcomes for members of this population.

中文翻译：

---

马里兰州巴尔的摩市男男性行为黑人 (BMSM) 的抑郁症状与特定身份社会支持之间的关联

 抽象的

 介绍

抑郁症和其他不良心理健康结果在男男性行为黑人 (BMSM) 中普遍存在。社会支持可以预防抑郁症状，而共同社会身份的经历可能会放大抑郁症状的影响。

 方法

我们在 280 名 BMSM 样本中探讨了 BMSM 特定的社会支持与抑郁症状之间的关联。我们使用卡方和 t 检验来检查社会支持、抑郁症状和关键相关因素之间的双变量关联，并使用逻辑回归来调整社会支持和抑郁症状之间的关系。

 结果

大多数参与者报告了高（43.2%）或中等（41.8%）水平的 BMSM 特定社会支持，38% 的人报告了抑郁症状，47.6% 的人感染了艾滋病毒。调整社会经济和结构脆弱性、健康状况以及同性恋社区的参与程度后，与低社会支持相比，高社会支持与抑郁症状的几率略有下降相关。

 结论

结果表明，即使在其他社会经济和结构性脆弱性的情况下，BMSM 特定的社会支持也能预防抑郁症状，这表明专注于建立社区和 BMSM 之间相互支持的基于优势的干预措施可能是预防抑郁和促进积极心理的宝贵工具。该人群成员的健康结果。