A. Carballodieguez et C. Dolezal, ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE AND ADULT HIV-RISK SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR IN PUERTO-RICAN MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN, Child abuse & neglect, 19(5), 1995, pp. 595-605
This study explored whether homosexually active men who were sexually
abused in childhood were more likely to engage in HIV-risk sexual beha
vior than men who were not sexually abused. Participants were 182 adul
t men of Puerto Rican ancestry living in New York City who had had sex
with other men or with men and women. Quantitative and qualitative me
thods of exploration were used. Three groups were determined: (a) Abus
e group (AB), formed by men who before age 13, had sex with a partner
at least 4 years their senior and who felt hurt by the experience and/
or were unwilling to participate in it; (b) Willing/not hurt group (W)
, consisting of men who had an older sexual partner before age 13 but
did not feel hurt by the experience and were willing to participate; a
nd (c) No-older-partner group (NOP). The results showed that men in th
e AB group were significantly more likely than men in the NOP group to
engage in receptive anal sex and to do so without protection. Men in
the W group were ranked between the other two groups in terms of their
unsafe behavior. Age and education were cofactors both for receptive
anal sex and for unprotected receptive anal sex. It is concluded that
given the need to improve HIV prevention among Puerto Rican men who ha
ve sex with men, sexual abuse in childhood may constitute a marker to
identify men at increased risk.