SURVEY TITLE: Urban Men's Health Study
ACRONYM: UMHS
SPONSOR: unknown/unavailable.
SURVEY PURPOSE: General health survey of men who have sex with men.
LOCATION SAMPLED: Four urban centers that represent "gay meccas" in the United States: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 1996-1997.
SAMPLE SIZE: 2,881.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: Telephone.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
SCREENER VERSION A7:
S6A/S13: “…We are interested in speaking with a group of men who, in recent years, have had to deal with serious health issues. We are interested in speaking with men who identify themselves as gay or bisexual, or who have had sex of any kind with a man since age 14. Would you include yourself in one of these groups? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
SCREENER VERSION B7:
S6A: “…We are interested in speaking with a group of men who, in recent years, have had to deal with serious health issues. We are interested in speaking with men who identify themselves as gay or bisexual, or who have had sex of any kind with a man since age 14. Do you have any friends that would include themselves in one of these groups? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
SCREENER VERSION C7:
S6A: “…We are interested in speaking with a group of men who, in recent years, have had to deal with serious health issues: men who have sex with other men, or who identify themselves as gay or bisexual. In past surveys, many men report that they have had some type of sexual experience with another man. This could have happened during adolescence, or as an adult. From your 14th birthday to the present, have you had sex of any kind with a man? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
S7A/S14: “Regardless of whether a person thinks of himself as gay, bisexual, or heterosexual, we are also interested in speaking with men who may only occasionally have sex with other men. Do you fall into this category? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
S7B: “Do any of the other men age 18 or older in your household identify as gay or bisexual or have sex with other men? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer
S8: “How many of the males age 18 or older in your household fall into this group?”
RESULTS:
DATA ACCESS: unknown/unavailable.
ACRONYM: UMHS
SPONSOR: unknown/unavailable.
SURVEY PURPOSE: General health survey of men who have sex with men.
LOCATION SAMPLED: Four urban centers that represent "gay meccas" in the United States: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 1996-1997.
SAMPLE SIZE: 2,881.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: Telephone.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
SCREENER VERSION A7:
S6A/S13: “…We are interested in speaking with a group of men who, in recent years, have had to deal with serious health issues. We are interested in speaking with men who identify themselves as gay or bisexual, or who have had sex of any kind with a man since age 14. Would you include yourself in one of these groups? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
SCREENER VERSION B7:
S6A: “…We are interested in speaking with a group of men who, in recent years, have had to deal with serious health issues. We are interested in speaking with men who identify themselves as gay or bisexual, or who have had sex of any kind with a man since age 14. Do you have any friends that would include themselves in one of these groups? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
SCREENER VERSION C7:
S6A: “…We are interested in speaking with a group of men who, in recent years, have had to deal with serious health issues: men who have sex with other men, or who identify themselves as gay or bisexual. In past surveys, many men report that they have had some type of sexual experience with another man. This could have happened during adolescence, or as an adult. From your 14th birthday to the present, have you had sex of any kind with a man? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
S7A/S14: “Regardless of whether a person thinks of himself as gay, bisexual, or heterosexual, we are also interested in speaking with men who may only occasionally have sex with other men. Do you fall into this category? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer”
S7B: “Do any of the other men age 18 or older in your household identify as gay or bisexual or have sex with other men? 1) Yes 2) No 8) Don’t know 9) Declined to answer
S8: “How many of the males age 18 or older in your household fall into this group?”
RESULTS:
- Mills TC, Paul J, Stall R, Pollack L, Canchola J, Chang YJ, Moskowitz JT, Catania JA.Distress and depression in men who have sex with men: the Urban Men's Health Study. Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Feb;161(2):278-85. Erratum in: Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Apr;161(4):776. OBJECTIVE: This study estimates the prevalence of depression and describes the correlates and independent associations of distress and depression among U.S. men who have sex with men. METHOD: A household-based probability sample of men who have sex with men (N=2,881) was interviewed between 1996 and 1998 in four large American cities. With cutoff points of 15 and 22 for the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, individual correlates and predictors of distress and depression were examined, and multinomial logistic regression was performed. RESULTS: The 7-day prevalence of depression in men who have sex with men was 17.2%, higher than in adult U.S. men in general. Both distress and depression were associated with lack of a domestic partner; not identifying as gay, queer, or homosexual; experiencing multiple episodes of antigay violence in the previous 5 years; and very high levels of community alienation. Distress was also associated with being of other than Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity and experiencing early antigay harassment. Depression was also associated with histories of attempted suicide, child abuse, and recent sexual dysfunction. Being HIV positive was correlated with distress and depression but not significantly when demographic characteristics, developmental history, substance use, sexual behavior, and current social context were controlled by logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of distress and depression are high in men who have sex with men. These high rates have important public health ramifications. The predictors of distress and depression suggest prevention efforts that might be effective when aimed at men who have sex with men.
- Stall R, Paul JP, Greenwood G, Pollack LM, Bein E, Crosby GM, Mills TC, Binson D, Coates TJ, Catania JA. Alcohol use, drug use and alcohol-related problems among men who have sex with men: the Urban Men's Health Study. Addiction. 2001 Nov;96(11):1589-601. AIMS: To measure the prevalence and independent associations of heavy and problematic use of alcohol and recreational drugs among a household-based sample of urban MSM (men who have sex with men). DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. PARTICIPANTS: Men who identified as being gay or bisexual or who reported sex with another man in the prior 5 years were included in this analysis (n = 2172). SETTING: A probability telephone sample of MSM was taken within Zip Codes of four large American cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco) estimated to have total concentrations of at least 4% of all households with one resident MSM.
MEASUREMENTS: Standard measures of alcohol use, problems associated with alcohol use, and recreational drug use were administered by trained telephone interviewers. FINDINGS: Both recreational drug (52%) and alcohol use (85%) were highly prevalent among urban MSM, while current levels of multiple drug use (18%), three or more alcohol-related problems (12%), frequent drug use (19%) and heavy-frequent alcohol use (8%) were not uncommon. The associations of heavy and/or problematic substance use are complex, with independent multivariate associations found at the levels of demographics, adverse early life circumstances, current mental health status, social and sexual practices and connection to gay male culture. CONCLUSIONS: The complex pattern of associations with heavy and/or problematic substance use among urban MSM suggests that heavy and/or problematic substance use is grounded in multiple levels: the individual, the interpersonal and the socio-cultural.
- Paul JP, Catania J, Pollack L, Moskowitz J, Canchola J, Mills T, Binson D, Stall R.
Suicide attempts among gay and bisexual men: lifetime prevalence and antecedents. Am J Public Health. 2002 Aug;92(8):1338-45. OBJECTIVES: We examined lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts and psychosocial correlates in a large population-based sample of men who have sex with men (MSM). METHODS: A telephone probability sample of US urban MSM (n = 2881) were interviewed between November 1996 and February 1998. RESULTS: Twenty-one percent had made a suicide plan; 12% had attempted suicide (almost half of those 12% were multiple attempters). Most who attempted suicide made their first attempt before age 25. Although prevalence of parasuicide (i.e., attempted suicide) has remained constant across birth cohorts, mean age at initial attempts has declined. CONCLUSIONS: MSM are at elevated risk for suicide attempts, with such risk clustered earlier in life. Some risk factors were specific to being gay or bisexual in a hostile environment.
- Paul JP, Catania J, Pollack L, Stall R. Understanding childhood sexual abuse as a predictor of sexual risk-taking among men who have sex with men: The Urban Men's
Health Study. Child Abuse Negl. 2001 Apr;25(4):557-84. OBJECTIVE: The prevalence and characteristics of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among men who have sex with men (MSM), and links with sexual risk are explored. A model linking CSA and sexual risk among MSM is proposed. METHOD: A telephone probability sample of urban MSM (n = 2881) was recruited and interviewed between November 1996 and February 1998. The interview covered numerous health issues, including history of sexual victimization. RESULTS: One-fifth reported CSA, primarily by non-family perpetrators. Initial CSA experiences are characterized by high levels of force (43% involved physical force/weapons), and penetrative sex (78%; 46% reported attempted or actual anal intercourse). Such men are more likely than nevercoerced men to engage in high risk sex (unprotected anal intercourse with a non-primary partner or with a serodiscordant male). In multivariate analyses, the effect of childhood sexual coercion on sexual risk is mediated by substance use, patterns of sexual contacts, and partner violence, but not by adult sexual revictimization or by depression. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are interpreted within the context of social learning theory and prior research on sexual risk-taking. The high risk for CSA among MSM, which can predispose such men to patterns of HIV sexual risk, warrants new approaches in HIV prevention.
DATA ACCESS: unknown/unavailable.