Influence of Stigma and Discrimination on HIV Risk among Men in China

This is a three-phase study to identify the specific mechanisms by which MSM stigma affect sexual risk behaviors among MSM in Beijing, China.

• In Phase 1, we will explore the range of management strategies used to cope with MSM stigma via 30 in-depth qualitative interviews with MSM.
• In Phase 2, we will develop, using Phase 1 qualitative data and adapting existing quantitative scales, culturally-relevant measures of explanatory constructs of interest (e.g., MSM stigma management) to establish reliability and validity (N=170).
• In Phase 3, we will examine potential mediators (e.g., stigma management strategies, psychological distress, sexual contexts/situations) that explain how MSM stigma are linked to sexual risk for HIV with a respondent-driven sample of 500 MSM who will complete baseline and two follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months.

We will also conduct 20 in-depth qualitative individual interviews with a subset of men selected from the Phase-3 participants to examine the acceptability of potential intervention components to address the link between MSM stigma and HIV risk.