Gay Men and Alhol: The Relatnship wh the Bottle

Contents:

• SUBSTANCE USE LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL POPULATNS: AN UPDATE ON EMPIRIL REARCH AND IMPLITNS FOR TREATMENT
• GAY MEN AND ALHOL: THE RELATNSHIP WH THE BOTTLE

SUBSTANCE USE LBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL POPULATNS: AN UPDATE ON EMPIRIL REARCH AND IMPLITNS FOR TREATMENT

Alhol and dg e among some gay and bisexual men n be a reactn to homophobia, discrimatn, or vlence they experienced due to their sexual orientatn and n ntribute to other mental health and physil problems. For some gay and bisexual men, alhol and illegal dg e, pecially methamphetam (meth), amyl nrat (poppers), and dgs ed to treat erectile dysfunctn (when a man has a hard time keepg an erectn durg sex), also ntribute to a higher chance of gettg HIV and other STDs.

1 In fact, studi show that people who self-intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual are approximately 2 tim as likely to have an addictn than straight peers and transgenr dividuals are close to 4 tim as likely.

Rearch suggts that gay alhol treatment programs mt nsir important factors such as sexual objectifitn, the tersectnaly of multiple margalized inti—pecially the impacts of racism—and high occurrenc of mental health ndns.

GAY MEN AND ALHOL: THE RELATNSHIP WH THE BOTTLE

This is particularly ncerng when nsirg that a 2007-2017 Centers for Disease Control and Preventn (CDC) report showed that over 23% of lbian, gay, or bisexual high school stunts and almost 27% of stunts who were unsure of their sexualy had ed illic dgs, pared to jt over 12% of straight stunts. La rga emocnal que supone enfermar n patologías tan tigmatizadas se aña en tos sos a la pacidad l sistema para abordar apropiadamente tas homofobia o la falta clión son factor que cin directamente en la prevalencia l alholismo y otras adiccn en el lectivo prión mediátiPor otro lado, existen tuds que apuntan a mpañas marketg grans pañías alhol que cin en la nexión entre el o stancias y las preferencias sexual. Esto pue tar relacnado n una mayor probalidad utilizar alhol y drogas y en nsecuencia, pacer dificultad para visibilizar las relacn pareja homosexual fluye en el sarrollo adiccnEl impacto las adiccn entre la población LGBTNo existen datos epimlógis suficient entre la población pañola ra a termar n exactud la prevalencia las adiccn en la unidad LGBT.

This may reflect differenc between homosexuals and the general populatn their adherence to sex-role stereotyp and age-related social role chang, as well as culturally specific strsors and vulnerabily to substance e. One perspective hypothiz that psychosocial factors, such as tolerant gay muny norms, foster higher rat of substance e and abe among lbians and bisexual women than those seen among heterosexual women (Bloomfield, 1993; Bux Jr., 1996; Fifield et al., 1975; Hugh and Eliason, 2002; McKirnan and Peterson, 1989a, 1989b). Another emphasiz that social stigmatizatn of homosexualy generat strs that may then ntribute to higher rat of substance e (Bux Jr., 1996; Cochran, 2001; Hugh and Eliason, 2002; Mays and Cochran, 2001; McKirnan and Peterson, 1989a, 1989b; Meyer, 2003).

A third highlights the stctural differenc women’s liv associated wh mory sexual orientatn cludg the importance of the gay bar as a foc of socializatn, the absence of heterosexual marriage, and alternative fay stctur that are ls likely to clu parentg rponsibili but more likely to volve full-time employment, which is a known risk factor for higher alhol nsumptn among women (Alm et al., 2000; Cochran, 2001; Cochran et al., 2000; Fifield et al., 1975; Hugh and Wilsnack, 1997; McKirnan and Peterson, 1989a, 1989b; Rothblum and Factor, 2001). The first ntrasts women reportg only male sexual partners durg their lifetim (the referent group) wh homosexually experienced women who report only female, only male, both male and female, or no sexual partners the year prr to terview. To do the latter parisons, we ntrast timat for homosexually experienced but currently heterosexually active women (the referent group) to homosexually experienced women who were currently sexually active only wh women, wh both men and women, or not sexually all analys, we report the weighted prevalence of tobac and alhol e.