Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 21, Issue 1, 2019, Pages 115-122

Sexual Migration and HIV Risk in a Sample of Brazilian, Colombian and Dominican Immigrant MSM Living in New York City (Article)

Nieves-Lugo K.* , Barnett A. , Pinho V. , Reisen C. , Poppen P. , Zea M.C.
  • a Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, United States
  • b Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, United States
  • c Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, United States
  • d Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, United States
  • e Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, United States
  • f Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, United States

Abstract

We examined motivations for migration to the United States (US) among 482 Brazilian, Colombian, and Dominican men who have sex with men (MSM). Participants’ most common reason for migration was to improve their financial situation (49%), followed by sexual migration in order to affirm their sexual orientation (40%). Fewer endorsed sexual migration motivated by avoiding persecution due to being gay (13%). We conducted further analyses among 276 participants who migrated after age 15 and were HIV-negative at the time of migration. We hypothesized that sexual migration would be associated with greater likelihood of HIV acquisition post-migration. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis indicated that sexual migration motivated by avoiding persecution due to being gay was associated with increased odds of contracting HIV after arrival in the US whereas sexual migration to lead a gay life was not. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing the negative impact of anti-gay discrimination in countries of origin. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Author Keywords

Latino/Hispanic Sexual orientation discrimination Sexual migration HIV MSM

Index Keywords

homophobia immigrant HIV Infections Human immunodeficiency virus infection motivation human epidemiology middle aged nonhuman ethnology Dominican (Dominica) Hispanic Americans Human immunodeficiency virus men who have sex with men Homosexuality, Male male homosexuality Cross-Sectional Studies United States cross-sectional study migrant psychology Hispanic New York Humans sexual orientation male Emigrants and Immigrants Socioeconomic Factors risk factor Risk Factors socioeconomics Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Article major clinical study adult human experiment age New York City Age Factors attitude to health
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85060141832&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-018-0716-7&partnerID=40&md5=0e61a75e79ff6a237cb927be16ebd971
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-018-0716-7
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English