Depressive distress among homosexually active African American men and women

Susan D. Cochran · Vickie M. Mays

220 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Journal of Psychiatry

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LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Mental Health Treatment and Access

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Although early surveys of psychological adjustment among gay men and lesbians suggest only minor and not clinically relevant differences from heterosexual populations, concerns about psychiatric morbidity associated with HIV infection have renewed interest in the prevalence of psychological distress in this population, particularly among gay men. These later studies have focused primarily on white men. However, research indicates higher crude prevalence rates of psychological distress in community-drawn samples of African American subjects than in white subjects and also higher rates in women than in men. The authors examined rates of depressive distress and suicidal thoughts among homosexually active African American men and women who might be especially at risk for psychiatric morbidity due to multiple stigmatized social statuses. METHOD: Two nationally recruited groups of homosexually active African Americans (829 men and 603 women) completed self-administered questionnaires, including the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. RESULTS: Homosexually active black women were as distressed as HIV-infected gay black men. Men with symptomatic HIV disease were significantly more distressed than men who were HIV infected but asymptomatic, HIV-antibody negative, or whose HIV status was unknown. Both men and women reported distress levels in excess of those previously reported in studies of blacks or primarily white gay men. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to identify specific predictors of life stressors and lack of social support among homosexually active African Americans who appear to be at higher risk for depressive distress.

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References

1977The CES-D Scale 1977ASSESSING DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN FIVE PSYCHIATRIC POPULATIONS: A VALIDATION STUDY 1978Homosexualities : a study of diversity among men and women 1977Symptoms of depression in two communities 1982Screening for Depression in a Community Sample 1989Life Stress and Health: Stressors and Resources 1981PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY1 1987Treatment-seeking for depression by black and white Americans

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