Drawing on resilience theories, this study examined the individual and community factors of Israeli lesbians, gays, bisexuals, queers, and questioning (LGBQs) that contribute to positive mental health and the degree to which individual and community protective factors mitigate the adverse effect of risk factors for poor mental health. Differences in resilience factors between LGBQ youth and adults were explored. Data were collected on 890 LGBQ youth and adults. Findings emphasize the role of community-level resilience factors in the lives of LGBQs, and that these support systems differ slightly between the two age groups. Among youth, family support was both a strong predictor for well-being and a protective factor for mental distress. Although family support was found as a resilience factor among adults as well, other community-level factors (friends' support, LGBT connectedness and having steady partner) were found as protective factors for poorer mental health. These findings suggest for efforts on fostering familial support for LGBQ youth and a multi-level system that offers support at the familial, peer, relationship and community levels for both LGBQ youth and adults.

Recent research suggests that viewing sexually explicit media (SEM), i.e., adult videos, may influence sexual risk taking among men who have sex with men (MSM). Despite this evidence, very little is known about the content of gay male SEM on the Internet, including the prevalence of sexual risk behaviors and their relation to video- and performer-characteristics, viewing frequency, and favorability. The current study content analyzed 302 sexually explicit videos featuring male same-sex performers that were posted to five highly trafficked adult-oriented websites. Findings revealed that gay male SEM on the Internet features a variety of conventional and nonconventional sexual behaviors. There was a substantial prevalence of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) (34%) and was virtually the same as the prevalence of anal sex with a condom (36%). The presence of UAI was not associated with video length, amateur production, number of video views, favorability, or website source. However, the presence of other potentially high-risk behaviors (e.g., ejaculation in the mouth, and ejaculation on/in/rubbed into the anus) was associated with longer videos, more views, and group sex videos (three or more performers). The findings of high levels of sexual risk behavior and the fact that there was virtually no difference in the prevalence of anal sex with and without a condom in gay male SEM have important implications for HIV prevention efforts, future research on the role of SEM on sexual risk taking, and public health policy.

Despite evidence that viewing sexually explicit media (SEM) may contribute to greater numbers of sexual partners, sexual risk taking, greater interest in group sex, and lower self-esteem among men who have sex with men (MSM), research has not addressed compulsive use of Internet-based SEM due to the lack of a validated measure for this population. This report investigates the psychometric properties of the 14-item Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS; Meerkerk, van den Eijnden, Vermulst, & Garretsen, 2009) adapted to assess the severity of compulsive Internet SEM use. A total of 265 Internet SEM-viewing MSM participated in an online survey about their SEM preferences, viewing habits, and recent sexual behaviors. A principal components analysis revealed a single-component, 13-item scale to adequately assess the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of this phenomenon, with a high internal consistency (α = .92). Greater compulsive use of Internet SEM was positively correlated with several relevant variables including boredom, sexual frustration, time spent viewing Internet SEM, and number of recent male sexual partners. The results offer preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of using an adapted version of the CIUS to understand compulsive Internet SEM use, and allow for more research into the potential negative consequences of compulsive SEM use.

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