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BackgroundWe evaluated the validity and reliability of the Neilands sexual stigma scale administered to 871 gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) at two research locations in Kenya.MethodsUsing cross-validation, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on a randomly selected subset of participants and validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the remaining participants. Associations of the initial and final stigma scale factors with depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and other substance use were examined for the entire dataset.ResultsEFA produced a two-factor scale of perceived and enacted stigma. The CFA model fit to the two-factor scale was improved after removing three cross-loaded items and adding correlated errors (chi-squared = 26.5, df 17, p = 0.07). Perceived stigma was associated with depressive symptoms (beta = 0.34, 95% CI 0.24, 0.45), alcohol use (beta = 0.14, 95% CI 0.03, 0.25) and other substance use (beta = 0.19, 95% CI 0.07, 0.31), while enacted stigma was associated with alcohol use (beta = 0.17, 95% CI 0.06, 0.27).ConclusionsOur findings suggest enacted and perceived sexual stigma are distinct yet closely related constructs among GBMSM in Kenya and are associated with poor mental health and substance use.

Original publication

DOI

10.1186/s12889-022-13066-3

Type

Journal

BMC public health

Publication Date

14/04/2022

Volume

22

Addresses

Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Box 357236, Seattle, USA. ckorhon@uw.edu.

Keywords

Humans, HIV Infections, Substance-Related Disorders, Reproducibility of Results, Homosexuality, Male, Kenya, Male, Social Stigma, Sexual and Gender Minorities