ABSTRACT

Internalized homophobia, or the internalization of negative attitudes toward one’s sexual minority identity, is associated with sexual risk behaviors among young sexual minority men (YSMM). However, the formation and maintenance of secure or insecure socio-emotional bonds with friends, family members, and intimate partners (i.e., adult attachment) may mitigate or exacerbate the negative effects of exposure to internalized homophobia. Nevertheless, little is known about how adult attachment influences the association between internalized homophobia and sexual risk behaviors (e.g., condomless anal sex) among YSMM. Thus, this study examined the potential moderating effect of adult attachment on the association between internalized homophobia and condomless anal sex (CAS) behaviors (i.e., insertive CAS and receptive CAS) among a sample of N = 268 YSMM who participated in the study between June 2015-March 2017 using zero-inflated Poisson regression models. We found that adult attachment anxiety, but not adult attachment avoidance, significantly moderated the association between internalized homophobia and receptive CAS behaviors such that those higher on adult attachment anxiety and internalized homophobia had fewer receptive CAS events over the preceding 30 days as compared to those lower on adult attachment anxiety and internalized homophobia. Research efforts should focus on unpacking the complex associations between adult attachment, internalized homophobia, and sexual risk behaviors among YSMM.

摘要

内在的同性恋恐惧症，或者说对性少数身份的消极态度的内在化，与年轻性少数男性（YSMM）的性危险行为有关。然而，与朋友、家人和亲密伴侣（即成人依恋）形成和维持安全或不安全的社会情感纽带可能会减轻或加剧暴露于内在同性恋恐惧症的负面影响。然而，关于成人依恋如何影响 YSMM 中内在的同性恋恐惧症和性危险行为（例如无套肛交）之间的关联，人们知之甚少。因此，本研究考察了成人依恋对内化同性恋恐惧症和无套肛交 (CAS) 行为（即插入性 CAS 和接受性 CAS）之间关联的潜在调节作用，其中样本为 N = 268 名 YSMM，他们于 6 月间参与了这项研究。 2015 年至 2017 年 3 月使用零膨胀泊松回归模型。我们发现，成人依恋焦虑（而非成人依恋回避）显着调节了内化同性恋恐惧症和接受性 CAS 行为之间的关联，因此，与成人依恋焦虑和内化同性恋恐惧症较高的人相比，成人依恋焦虑和内化同性恋恐惧症较高的人在过去 30 天内的接受性 CAS 事件较少。关于成人依恋焦虑和内在的同性恋恐惧症。研究工作应集中于揭示 YSMM 中成人依恋、内在的同性恋恐惧症和性危险行为之间的复杂关联。