Black men who have sex with men (MSM), especially young MSM, are more likely to contract HIV than White MSM. Research thus far has been unable to account for the mechanisms driving this racial disparity, as HIV research has largely targeted individual risk factors, but Black MSM consistently report comparable or fewer of these behaviors than other MSM. In addition, little research examining racial disparities acknowledges that substance use and other HIV risk behaviors are socially and spatially dependent; thus, differences in network and venue affiliation may shape the risk environments and behaviors of YMSM of different racial groups, and may be key in understanding differences in HIV. Emerging research with Black MSM documents racial differences in the network, venue, and neighborhood affiliations of YMSM. These findings suggest that although rates of drug use and other HIV risk behaviors may be lower among Black YMSM than other racial groups, their consequences may be different due to the nature of the risk environments experienced by these young men. The overall objective of this project is to contribute to knowledge about structural mechanisms (e.g., stigma and discrimination) that shape these risk environments, which in turn shape consequences of substance use and other HIV risk behaviors for young Black MSM. However, appropriately interpreting the empirical data describing these social and cultural contexts (i.e., the structure of social, sex, drug, venue, and neighborhood affiliation networks) i problematic without the incorporation of the voices, lived experiences, and knowledge of participants. Therefore, the innovative mixed methods approach proposed by this project will guide the interpretation of network-level structures captured within an existing NIH-funded cohort of YMSM. Three phases will occur in which network and geographic data is visualized (Phase 1) and used to guide interviews with YMSM, leading to a theory of mechanisms and functions in this population (Phase 2), which will be subsequently tested using multilevel modeling (Phase 3). The overall project has two aims: 1) identify how networks, venues, and neighborhoods operate as risk environments that shape the consequences of substance use and HIV risk behavior for YMSM of different racial groups, and 2) identify how structural mechanisms, such as stigma and discrimination, influence the networks, venue attendance, and neighborhood affiliations of YMSM of different racial groups.
Young Black men who have sex with men (YMSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS despite having lower rates of important individual risk factors, and the mechanisms driving these racial disparities are unknown. This application aims to examine (1) how networks, venues, and neighborhoods function as risk environments that shape the consequences of risk behaviors, such as drug use, for YMSM of different racial groups as well as (2) structural mechanisms that shape racial differences in risk environments. The project incorporates the voices and lived experiences of YMSM to deepen understanding of social contextual factors associated with HIV and drug use, which has the potential to further our understanding of these important mechanisms as well as to provide a platform for the development of multilevel HIV/STI risk reduction interventions.
| McConnell, Elizabeth A (2018) Risking It Anyway: An Adolescent Case Study of Trauma, Sexual and Gender Identities, and Relationality. Issues Ment Health Nurs 39:73-82 |
| McConnell, Elizabeth; Néray, Bálint; Hogan, Bernie et al. (2018) ""Everybody Puts Their Whole Life on Facebook"": Identity Management and the Online Social Networks of LGBTQ Youth. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15: |
| McConnell, Elizabeth A; Janulis, Patrick; Phillips 2nd, Gregory et al. (2018) Multiple Minority Stress and LGBT Community Resilience among Sexual Minority Men. Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers 5:1-12 |
| McConnell, Elizabeth A; Clifford, Antonia; Korpak, Aaron K et al. (2017) Identity, Victimization, and Support: Facebook Experiences and Mental Health Among LGBTQ Youth. Comput Human Behav 76:237-244 |
