Sexual Health Risk Behaviors Among Older Men Who Have Sex With Men: Implications for Interventions

Abstract

Sexual health risk behaviors, HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission, substance use, stigma, and loneliness among older men who have sex with men are discussed. Implications for interventions are provided, including (a) assessment of health-related risk behaviors, (b) brief interventions, (c) HIV and STI screening, and (d) relevant developmental and contextual factors.

Depression, Loneliness, and Sexual Risk-Taking Among HIV-Negative/Unknown Men Who Have Sex with Men in China

“…Loneliness is an unpleasant, subjective experience that results from the lack of quantity or quality of social relationships (Peplau and Perlman, 1982). Loneliness may stem from minority stress (Kuyper and Fokkema, 2010), perceived and enacted stigma, lack of social support (Hubach et al, 2015), and loss of friends and intimate partners due to HIV/AIDS (Dispenza et al, 2015). Moreover, loneliness has been shown to be a barrier to receiving HIV testing and counseling among MSM (Neme et al, 2015).…”

Taking Access to the Community: An Ecological Systems Framework for In‐Home Counseling With Older Adults

“…It is important to note that for an older adult, the macrosystem may have changed greatly across the life span. For example, cultural attitudes about sexual and affectional identities have changed greatly in the last 20 years, which for an older adult may have been only a small portion of their overall life (Dispenza, Dew, Tatum, & Wolf, ; Hensen & Koltz, ). This extensive systems model acknowledges the changing environments and social, political, and cultural implications for experiences of older adults.…”