Publications
The effect of discrimination and resilience on depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older men who have sex with men
2021
Brown, A. L., Matthews, D. D., Meanley, S., Brennan-Ing, M., Haberlen, S., D'Souza, G., Ware, D., Egan, J., Shoptaw, S., Teplin, L. A., Friedman, M. R., & Plankey, M. (2021). The effect of discrimination and resilience on depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older men who have sex with men. Stigma and Health. Advance online publication.
Mark Brennan-Ing
Abstract
This study investigated the associations between homophobic and racist discrimination and increased depressive symptoms among 960 middle-aged and older men who have sex with men (MSM) and how resilience moderated these relationships. We used five waves of longitudinal data from the Healthy Aging substudy of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). We used linear regression analyses to model depressive symptoms as a function of discrimination. We used linear mixed analyses to model changes in mean resilience scores across visits. We used linear regression analyses to model depressive symptoms as a function of changes in resilience and to test the moderation effects of resilience on the relationship between discrimination and depressive symptoms. The models accounted for repeated measures of resilience. Men who experienced external and internal homophobia had greater depressive symptoms, β: 2.08; 95% CI [0.65, 3.51]; β: 1.60; 95% CI [0.76, 2.44]. Men experienced significant changes in mean resilience levels across visits (F = 2.84, p = .02). Men with a greater positive change in resilience had lower depressive symptoms, β: −0.95; 95% CI [−1.47, −0.43]. Men with higher average resilience levels had lower depressive symptoms, β: −5.08; 95% CI [−5.68, −4.49]. Men’s resilience did not moderate the relationship between homophobia and depressive symptoms. Significant associations of external and internal homophobia with greater depressive symptoms present targets for future research and interventions among middle-aged and older MSM. Significant associations of average and positive changes in resilience with lower depressive symptoms provide aims for future research and interventions with this population.