Search

Purpose: Sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) show a heightened risk of disordered eating compared to heterosexual and cisgender people, a disparity which may be caused by exposure to minority-specific stressors, such as discrimination and violence. This systematic review aims to summarize available evidence on the role of minority stress in disordered eating and SGM-specific aspects. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, scientific search engines (EBSCO, PUBMED, Web of Science) were screened up to 31st of January 2024, including English-language original research papers containing analyses of the relationship between minority stress and disordered eating. 2416 records were gathered for screening. After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, thematic analysis was conducted regarding 4 research questions: effects of minority stress on disordered eating, mediating factors, specificities of SGMs and differences between identity categories. Results: 30 studies were included. Several aspects of minority stress are reliably associated with different forms of disordered eating. The relationship between minority stressors and disordered eating is mediated by aspects such as shame, body shame, or negative affect. SGMs show several specificities, such as the presence of a role of LGBTQIA + communities and additional gender-related pressures. Bisexual people and gender minorities appear to feature comparatively higher risks, and gender-related factors shape paths leading to disordered eating risk. Conclusion: Minority stress is an important predictor of disordered eating, making SGM people's health particularly at risk. Institutional and organizational anti-discrimination policies are needed, as well as further research. Clinical interventions may benefit from exploring and incorporating how minority stressors impact SGM people. Evidence level I—Systematic review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ways in which health professionals (HPs) interact with individuals from sexual minorities can impact their perception of the health service and influence engagement. This systematic literature review aimed to identify and synthesize the qualitative literature exploring interactions between HPs and lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) patients in healthcare settings. A search strategy was developed and applied to CINAHL and Medline, inclusion criteria were then applied to results by two screeners with good agreement. Thematic analysis was carried out on papers meeting the inclusion criteria in three stages, beginning with coding the text line-by-line, developing descriptive themes and finally, analytical themes. Electronic searches identified 348 papers with 20 of these meeting the inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis found five themes; HPs' lack of knowledge regarding LGB specific issues, identification of sexual orientation, discomfort in interactions, LGB patients' experience of heteronormative attitudes and perceived judgment or other negative attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The victimization of gay and bisexual men has gained significant academic and social attention, with that focus extending to the role of digital victimization. Grindr has dominated the market for online dating apps targeting gay, bisexual, trans and queer people. Drawing on qualitative data collected from men who use Grindr, this paper addresses a gap in criminological literature by exploring the way that men that have sex with men negotiate perceptions of safety when engaging in real-world meetings that have been facilitated by Grindr. It is argued throughout this paper that risk-reduction strategies adopted by interviewees only reduce the perception of risk, rather than the actual risk of experiencing violent victimization. As such, it is claimed exploring digital integration offers a more nuanced reading of the intertwined and fraught relations of risk and safety within digital and physical spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Counter Narrative Project (CNP) was founded to shift narratives and shatter stereotypes about Black gay, bisexual, and queer men to advance social justice. This paper describes three programs CNP implemented that were organized around collective memory as a strategy to respond to collective trauma experienced by this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico, there is a lack in academic research about bisexual Health-Disease-Attention process. This paper analyzes the main problems about health-disease for bisexual people with a Social Medicine and a Collective Health approach. In order to do this analysis, this paper offers a systematization of research's discoveries related to the Health-Disease-Attention process in bisexual people. Problems on health-disease for bisexual people include worse mental health conditions in comparison to gay and lesbian people. As psychologists have few contextualized knowledge about bisexual health-disease situations, then they cannot adequately respond to bisexual people needs. Bisexual Health-Disease-Attention process is an historical and social product where the lack of visibility and the negative valuation functions as mechanisms to regulate people's sexuality, which can be reproduced in Health-Attention places, such as Mental Health ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the use of coproduction to create a film "Do You See Me?", to amplify the voices of a "hard to reach" group: older lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) victim-survivors of domestic abuse (DA). Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative methods were used as part of the co-production, which included two practitioner focus groups and 14 narrative interviews with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning persons or the community (LGBTQ+) victim-survivors. Findings: Despite differences in gender, sexualities, roles and "lived experiences" across stakeholders, there was a shared aim to ensure victim-survivors had a sense of ownership in this endeavour. Consequently, a positive reciprocity existed that helped to foster effective communication, allow for capacity building and subsequent knowledge exchange. The collaboration produced a nuanced meta-narrative making visible the "lived experiences" of LGB victim-survivors' perceptions of perpetrator behaviours. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is original in two ways, firstly, providing insights into the "lived experiences" of an invisible group; older LGBTQ+ victim-survivors, and secondly, in involving them in the co-production of a film. The paper aims to reveal how interdependencies that developed between stakeholders helped to disrupt understandings, develop new ways of knowing and build levels of trust. Group interactions helped to dismantle hierarchies, so those with experiential knowledge: the survivors, had greater control throughout the research process. The paper is significant in providing a critical reflection on the ethical, methodological and resource challenges involved in co-production. It also makes recommendations for researchers and funders about the value of using co-production as a method to engage with hard-to-reach groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws attention to the tensions generated within LGBTQ+ movements in Portugal. Although recent legal developments have put Portugal on the map as a European country welcoming LGBTQ+ people, on a local scale, movements have been less ready to expand their notions of inclusion within the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Drawing on two studies carried out through twenty qualitative interviews between 2017 and 2020, the authors focus on the tensions that emerge in the narratives of two groups of people: bisexual activists and chronically ill people who also identify as LGBTQ+. Both studies explore to what extent practices of exclusion are at play in Pride politics in Portugal and what forms of (in)visibility are privileged over others. The analysis uses the concepts of middle ground (Hemmings 2002) and boundary work (Egner 2017) to show how Pride politics are often oriented towards a normative definition of able-bodied, white gay and lesbian people. They also tend to exclude from public space some intersectional subjectivities, through active opposition or indirect discrimination. The paper offers a relevant perspective to reflect on the tensions generated by public action within LGBTQ+ communities, compromises between care and belonging, and the future advancements that will need to be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper considers the nature of creativity in Virginia Woolf's novel To the Lighthouse, in which she said she had finally 'laid the ghosts' of her parents, after many years of being obsessed with them, her mother in particular. Woolf was very familiar with the psychoanalytic concepts of her day, owing to the social milieu and publishing context of the 'Bloomsbury' intellectual circle. She acknowledged that all her writings were in some sense autobiographical. Despite periods of severe depression, she preferred not to have an analysis but to pursue her own self-analysis through her writings. This paper pursues in detail the evolution of the image of 'internal parents', known in modern psychoanalysis as the 'combined internal object' (Klein, Meltzer) and taken to be the key source of an individual's creativity. The aim is to distinguish the realistic portrayal of external parents from the creative story that is told and indeed discovered by the writer, focussing on its experiential and experimental evolution within the structure of the novel itself. Woolf spoke of the 'androgynous' nature of creative work, and this, it is suggested, refers not simply to the aesthetic interweaving of complementary qualities represented in the story, but to the sense of a governing aegis of parental bisexual objects who work towards and achieve a constructive relationship in the inner world, capable of repairing defects that exist in the external world. Woolf preferred not to interpret her own works symbolically but suggested that readers may do so. The family journey to the Lighthouse is often seen in terms of a spiritual journey, as well as an artistic one, and can also be interpreted in psychoanalytic terms of an internal reconstruction or reparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that the erotology within Hubert Fichte’s novels, as it has been formulated by Gert Mattenklott, can be complemented by a bi-orgasmology. On the basis of selected passages, it shows how Fichte’s bisexual protagonist, the writer and ethnographer Jäcki, stylizes the orgasmic moment as a state of distinguished epistemic quality with regard to the world and the other, being characterized by, first, a partial suspension of the I and, second, a specific epistemic double rhythm, oscillating between consciousness and unconsciousness, reflexivity and irreflexivity. As an ideal, the female orgasm scintillates on the epistemological firmament, as it is described by Jäcki’s lifelong partner Irma in Hotel Garni; an orgasmic form of perception which Jäcki approximates in the course of an orgy in Eine Glückliche Liebe, precisely because he simultaneously adopts penetration roles that are conventionally encoded as male and female within the heteronormative matrix. The forms of perception in this decidedly bisexual scene eventually become the blueprint for how Jäcki wants to conduct his research in the field of the syncretistic religions of the Americas: reflexive-irreflexive, both a registrar and a participant, balancing between the own and the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysing survey data from 1,304 LGBTQ + young people in Australia collected in 2016, this paper considers key distinctions between the experiences of bisexual and pansexual participants, and lesbian and gay participants in relation to social media use and aspects of connection, harassment and mental health. Presenting quantitative data, illustrated by qualitative extracts, we found broad similarities in motivations for using social media and how participants connected to peers and communities. There were some statistically significant differences, however, in respondents' motivations for using social media and who they connected with on these platforms. Importantly, bisexual and pansexual participants reported more negative experiences of harassment and exclusion across all major social media platforms when compared to their lesbian and gay peers. Bisexual and pansexual respondents also reported poorer mental health experiences. These findings speak to the different impacts of discrimination and oppression that young people experience in everyday life. There is a need for focused attention on bisexual and pansexual young people in academic, policy and youth-work domains. Young people will benefit from more substantial school-based education on LGBTQ + identities - beyond the experiences of gay and lesbian people - to 'usualise' varieties of difference in gender and sexual identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper both revisits and productively draws on Judith Butler's theory of sexuality offered in Gender Trouble, to consider how this foundational queer theory text inadvertently works to contain and bracket plurisexualities such as bisexuality. I consider how Butler at once rejects the idea of originary bisexuality provoked by psychoanalytic discourse on polymorphous perversity yet subsumes bisexual oppression into that of homosexuality. I interrogate Butler's monosexual presumptions to extend their notion of the heterosexual matrix to account for an operational hetero/homo binary that both excludes plurisexuality as its Other and obscures this exclusion. Following this theoretical line, I consider how the asymmetric hetero/homo binary has been coded along the lines of comedy/tragedy in culture, and in contrast how bisexuality and other plurisexualities are often rendered impossible. I suggest that plurisexualities, representing a refusal to refuse the originary prohibition, "haunt" both straight and queer contexts alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Substance use, that is of cigarettes, alcohol and chemical inhalants, is a major contributor to health‐compromising behaviors and the related consequences among adolescents around the world. The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in this phenomenon in South Korea among sexually active adolescents who reported sexual minority behaviors as compared to their heterosexual (HS) peers. Design and Methods: This study used data from the annual web‐based survey called Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 5‐year intervals: 2006, 2011, and 2016. From 2017, the questions regarding the gender of sex partners were excluded from the survey, thus no data is available for sexual minorities after 2016. Selected data (Unweighted n = 10,029) was used to assess whether substance use increased, decreased, or remained unchanged among adolescents who reported same‐sex (SS) behaviors and bisexual (BS) behaviors compared to their peers reporting HS behaviors. Demographic variables included age and assigned gender. Substances referred to are cigarettes, alcohol, and chemical inhalants. Logistic regression models were sex‐stratified according to assigned gender. Trend analyses were carried out to examine disparities in substance use among sexually active adolescents across the three survey years. Results: Across the three survey years, cigarette use, alcohol use, and problematic drinking declined among all sexually active youths, but there were some differences among the subgroups. In 2016, SS girls were more likely to use cigarettes than HS girls. The prevalence of alcohol use and problematic drinking among BS girls was relatively higher than among girls who exhibited either HS or SS behaviors. Inhalant use was very high among both boys and girls with SS and BS behaviors. Practice Implications: The findings of the study reveal disparities in substance use between sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents in South Korea. This creates an alarm for collecting data separately for sexually diverse youth in future Korean national surveys with a goal of reducing substance use among all adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until 1985 Essex was mostly preoccupied with helping his friend Joe Beam put together what would be the pathbreaking Black gay anthology I In The Life i , and in enjoying a live-in love affair with a naval career officer who broke it off after several years, leaving Essex sadly missing what he called "the domestic repetition of beauty that is found in caring for and being cared for by a lover." In 1980, Miller arranged for Essex and the Black lesbian poet/filmmaker Michelle Parkerson-she and Essex immediately bonded and became lifelong friends-to share a bill together at a poetry reading series at Howard University.[5] From that point on, Essex's contacts and publications proliferated. For additional material I'm indebted to Frances Goldin, Essex's literary agent (and at the time, my own), who located Essex's early poems for me in her back files, as well as the manuscript of his long-lost novel, "Standing in the Gap." 20 For this and the following three paragraphs: Michelle Parkerson to me, April 8, 2013; Hemphill to Assotto Saint, June 10, 1993, Assotto Saint (Yves Lubin) Papers, Schomburg Library; Goldin to Hemphill, Sept. 1, 1992, Jan. 13, 1993; Goldin to Peter Borland (NAL), Nov. 4, 1992; Hemphill to Goldin, Dec. 21, 1992, Feb. 16, July 28, Sept. 1993-all courtesy Goldin. [Extracted from the article]

Geo-social networking applications (GSNAs) like Tinder and Grindr are popular tools for connecting with people for romance, sex, and other purposes, particularly among sexual minorities. This paper draws on narrative interviews with 13 bisexual persons (5 cisgender men, 6 cisgender women, 2 trans/nonbinary persons) to explore their GSNA use, including motives and gratifications, relational dynamics, and implications for individual identities and cultural understandings of bisexuality. Participants presented complex and ambivalent accounts of their GSNA use, revealing a variety of relational aspirations and experiences. Whatever users' goals, cultural meanings associated with bisexuality shaped online interactions in ways that impeded their fulfillment, with binegativity routinely preventing relationship formation in the first instance or precipitating relationship dissolution. Despite these challenges, bisexual persons regularly have successful digitally-mediated encounters which can reshape private and collective understandings of bisexuality. GSNAs expose users to new experiences and discourses that help them make sense of their erotic predilections, including partner sex/gender sexuality. They may also play a role in the broader sea change in attitudes toward bisexuality by facilitating the formation of mixed orientation relationships wherein stereotypes are gradually replaced by direct personal experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization risk of bisexual individuals compared with their straight and gay peers, highlighting the ways in which risky lifestyle factors and feelings of marginalization operate to increase risk. We theorize that both behavioral and stigma-related risk factors identified in previous work may be systematically different in the bisexual population compared to their straight peers, thus increasing IPV risk. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Wave 4, N = 14,415), we examine the extent to which risky behaviors and feelings of marginalization mediate the impact of bisexual identity on IPV risk. Findings suggest bisexual individuals are significantly more at risk for IPV (OR = 1.60) than their straight and gay peers. Their increased risk is explained by risky behaviors (e.g., drug use and number of partners), and feeling unloved. Adjusting for these mediators, the effect of being bisexual on IPV is reduced substantially (OR = 1.27) but remains significant. Understanding the unique stigmatization experiences and vulnerability of this population is critical for designing effective victimization prevention strategies. It is important to consider risk reduction strategies that may be uniquely important for bisexual adults and mitigating the burdens of stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity formation for asexual people can be complicated by limited societal awareness of asexualities. Consequently, people who eventually identify on the asexuality spectrum often adopt other sexual identities in their early lives. In this paper, we extend sexual identity development theory by analyzing the identity trajectories of asexual-spectrum people who once identified as bisexual or pansexual. Quantitative data suggests that about half of asexual-spectrum respondents once identified as bisexual or pansexual and a third closely associate with bisexual or pansexual terminology. Qualitative data supports these findings, revealing that bisexuality, pansexuality, and asexuality are not always seen as mutually exclusive categories by asexual individuals. We argue that the intelligibility of bi-/pansexuality positions them as identity pathways for many asexual-spectrum individuals who experience equal (albeit little to no) attraction toward people of any gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic review of factors that correlate with attitudes toward bisexuals, and a meta-analysis to estimate the effect size of these relationships. A search strategy was designed to identify studies that had a measure of attitudes toward bisexuals and assessed the relationship between these attitudes and at least one attitude-relevant correlate. The strategy was then applied to PsycINFO, PsycEXTRA, Proquest Psychology Collection, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and SociINDEX databases, and calls for unpublished data were circulated through relevant professional bodies. Effect size data were extracted from the articles, and meta-analyses were conducted on each of the applicable correlates. The meta-analyses revealed that age, contact (quality and quantity), income, political orientation, religion, sexual orientation, education, ethnicity, gender, and population density were related to negative attitudes toward bisexual individuals (Fisher's Zs = 0.108, −0.418, −0.209, 0.221, 0.231, 0.346, & 0.831, and Hedges' g's = 0.365, 0.344, 0.278, & 0.193, respectively). In addition, a sub-group moderation analysis revealed these effect sizes for participant gender differed as a function of target gender (i.e., bisexual men vs. bisexual women). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to explore how gay men use drugs in their sex lives, colloquially called "chemsex". This paper reports on a sub‐theme within the research about support, care and peer support. Longitudinal interviews were conducted with 20 gay and bi men between April 2017 and July 2019. Participants were recruited via geolocated dating apps (n = 17) and snowball sampling (n = 3). The main findings of this research are that medicalised forms of support for gay and bi men engaging in chemsex are often tardy in their responses to need, and whilst helpful for cessation of drug use, fail to address the holistic needs of the participants. A wide variety of peer support was practiced amongst the sample which often echoed previous forms of peer support practiced in the LGBT+ community. It was offered by both people who engaged in chemsex and those who did not and was highly beneficial to people who experienced problems with chemsex. However, peer support was also limited by factors such as shame and the instability of those offering support. In conclusion, we suggest that medicalised forms of chemsex support could benefit from more rigorous and rapid forms of assessment for problematic chemsex, and also provide infrastructure and training to peer support initiatives. We also suggest that medical services could learn from patients and their peers about what support needs remain unaddressed by professional services, and engage in collaborative approaches to practice development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young bisexual people report disparities related to mental health and sexual violence compared to their heterosexual and gay/lesbian peers. However, the majority of research in these areas does not employ an intersectional design, despite evidence that health outcomes vary by race and gender within bi + populations. The goal of this paper is to provide an intersectionally-informed exploration of the prevalence of sexual violence among a diverse sample of 112 bi + people age 18–26, as well as descriptive data on stigma, mental health, and social support. Most (82%) of participants reported at least once experience of sexual violence since the age of 16. Sexual violence was positively associated with sexual stigma, anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Nonbinary participants reported greater prevalence of violence, exposure to stigma, and worse mental health outcomes relative to cisgender participants. Nonbinary BIPOC participants reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than cisgender BIPOC participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Fluminensia is the property of Fluminensia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While there is strong evidence that the experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) shapes PrEP use among heterosexual women, evidence for similar relationships among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) is scant. In this paper we analyze baseline data from a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an HIV prevention intervention for GBMSM recruited from three cities (Atlanta, Detroit and New York City) to examine how the recent experience of IPV shapes their rankings of PrEP delivery options. Men were asked to rank from 1 to 8 PrEP taken by daily pill, event-based pill, injection, anal suppository (before sex), suppository (after sex), gel (penile or rectal) (before sex), and gel (after sex) and condoms. The analysis sample is 694 HIV-negative, sexually active GBMSM. Analysis considers an ordinal outcome measuring participant's ranked preferences for their future use of eight HIV prevention options. Men who experienced physical IPV preferred PrEP in pill form, while men who experienced partners monitoring their behaviors (monitoring IPV) preferred PrEP by injection. Men who experienced emotional IPV ranked PrEP by pill lower than other methods. Sexual and controlling IPV were not significantly associated with PrEP modality ranking. As more modes of PrEP delivery become available, providers should be encouraged to screen GBMSM seeking PrEP for IPV, and to provide men with the necessary information to facilitate an informed choice when deciding on a PrEP modality that will work for them and their relationship context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper identifies future directions for information practices theoretical discourses addressing marginality, community, and embodiment. We extend arguments from critical research identifying how existing discourses fail to capture the nuanced, lived experiences of people and communities confronting marginalization, predominantly via their reinforcement of deficit narratives. We then connect a series of qualitative projects examining the information practices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual communities in the American South with relevant Library and Information Science (LIS) research to examine how marginality, community, and embodiment shape these practices. Specifically, we introduce a conceptual model that describes marginality by framing information practices as tactical and agentic responses to and refutations of social and structural barriers and risks. While some of the information practices of participants and communities appear to be uninformed or unsafe, they represent the products of community sharing and vetting. Embodied navigations further inform participant practices as they navigate information worlds produced and informed by their intersectional identities. These arguments coincide with key categories established within our model that describe information practices: defensive and protective, and community and self. Based on these insights, we offer directions for future research and theory to reorient existing discourses in ways that inspire middle‐range theory building that fully captures people's lived experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisexual individuals often face binegativity in relationships with intimate partners and the health disparities associated with discrimination. The present study sought to explore the little known aspect of identity-based partner acceptance of bisexual individuals. Through the eyes of the bisexual person identified by a snow-ball sampling method of bisexual persons living in the United States, 197 participants completed an open-ended question on positive experiences with partners, with 96 of them emphasizing acceptance and understanding. Findings suggest there are multiple ways bisexual individuals encounter acceptance from their partner—some more neutral expressions and some more overt. Neutral messages were twice as likely to occur compared to overt forms of acceptance. Participants reported themes of: (1) didn't try to change me, (2) ambivalence, (3) proud/rooting, (4) asked me about my experiences, and (5) feeling loved. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for reducing stigma and increasing acceptance by partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social research with people living with HIV (PLHIV) rarely distinguishes between gay men and bisexual men. However, bisexual men may have unique experiences of HIV-related stigma and distinct support needs. In this paper, findings are presented from a cross-sectional survey of Australian PLHIV, which included the Berger (HIV) stigma scale. A total of 872 PLHIV completed the survey, of which 48 (6.0%) were bisexual men. Bisexual men reported higher levels of internalised HIV-related stigma, greater negative self-image and poorer emotional wellbeing than gay men. Bisexual men also reported less social support, less connection with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) communities, and less connection with other PLHIV. Analysis of data from an open-text question revealed feelings of social isolation and fear of rejection was associated with participant's HIV diagnosis. Study findings suggest that existing social supports for PLHIV may not adequately address the unique support needs of bisexual men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As social inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been recognised, emerging research showed that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people may be additionally affected during the pandemic. This paper adds to the understanding of the experiences of LGB people during the pandemic with a focus on Hong Kong, where issues of space significantly influence LGB people's lives in this city with high population density. As part of a larger community study of LGB lives in Hong Kong, COVID-19-related impact on 434 Chinese-speaking LGB people was explored. Data collection was conducted from 20 May to 30 June 2020. Inductive thematic analysis of the open-text response survey data found that the LGB participants described both negative and positive impacts brought by COVID-19. Such impacts could be dimensionalised into those related to personal space and privacy, romantic and sexual space, and community space. It was also found that the experiences of COVID-19 among LGB people in Hong Kong were intersectional, along the lines of living arrangement and relationship status. Such findings make unique contributions to the emerging literature. First, there needs to be a more nuanced understanding of sexual minority individuals' experiences during COVID-19 across cultural contexts. Second, COVID-19 was described as having brought positive impact in addition to its widely known negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let (Zn) be a superadditive bisexual branching process in an independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random environment ξ. We establish Cramér moderate deviations and Berry-Esseen bounds for log(Zn+n0=Zn0) uniformly in n0 ≥ 0. As an application of Cramér moderate deviation, we give the confidence interval of the parameter E log r1(ξ0) in terms of known population sizes Zn0, Zn+n0, and generation n, where r1(ξn) denotes the average number of mating units formed by the offspring of the same mating unit of generation n when the environment ξ is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphological and reproductive characteristics of brine shrimp Artemia from two western Algerian populations (El Melah and Timimoun) were studied for the first time alongside the northwestern population (Bethioua). Sexual, survival, growth, and reproduction were recorded for each population raised under standardized culture conditions. The morphological results showed that Artemia from the Timimoun and El Melah populations are bisexual, while the Bethioua population is parthenogenetic. After 20 days at salinity of 80 PSU, higher survival rates were found for the El Melah (85.5%) and Timimoun (72.0%) populations, while the Bethouia population showed the lowest survival rate (30.2%). Total body lengths of naupliar stages of the parthenogenetic populations were significantly longer than those of the bisexual populations. The Bethouia population displayed the highest absolute growth rate resulting in the largest adults compared to the bisexual populations. El Melah and Timimoun females were significantly larger morphologically in seven of the nine morphological characteristics compared to their respective males. The Bethouia females had smaller total and abdominal lengths compared to the females from the bisexual populations. The bisexual strains were significantly different from the parthenogenetic population in 9 of the 11 reproductive characteristics. Bethouia females, however, had the highest offspring/day/female and longest post-reproductive period compared to bisexual females. The Timimoun population adapted reproductive strategies differently compared to the other two populations: a late maturity (21.6 days), and more offspring/females (65.1). The data from the study will help future management and potential development of the Algerian brine shrimp populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Minority stress from racism and heterosexism may uniquely interact to impact the mental health of racialized sexual minorities. We examined variations in anxiety and depressive symptoms by reported by ethno-racial identity among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) in Vancouver, Canada. Methods: We recruited gbMSM aged ≥ 16 years from February 2012 to February 2015 using respondent-driven sampling (RDS). Participants completed computer assisted self-interviews (CASI) at enrollment and every 6 months until February 2017. We examined factors associated with moderate/severe anxiety and depression scores (> 10) on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and differences in key explanatory variables including sociodemographic, psychosocial, and substance use factors. We used multivariable mixed effects models to assess whether moderate/severe scores were associated with ethno-racial identity across all visits. Results: After RDS-adjustment, of 774 participants, 79.9% of participants identified as gay. 68.6% identified as white, 9.2% as Asian, 9.8% as Indigenous, 7.3% as Latin American, and 5.1% as other ethno-racial identities. Participants contributed a median of 6 follow-up visits (Q1-Q3: 4–7). In the multivariable analysis, Asian participants had decreased odds of moderate/severe anxiety scores compared to white participants (aOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.18–0.86), and Latin American participants had decreased odds of moderate/severe depression scores compared to both white (aOR = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.08–0.36) and Asian (aOR = 0.07; 95% CI: 0.02–0.20) participants. Conclusion: Asian and Latino gbMSM reported decreased mental health symptoms compared to white participants. Asian and Latino gbMSM in Vancouver appear to manage multiple minority stressors without adversely affecting their mental health. Key messages: - What is already known on this topic: ◦ Sexual minority groups, including gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM), experience higher rates of mental health disorders than their heterosexual counterparts. ◦ Evidence is mixed on how stigma from intersecting minority identities among gbMSM, such as racism experienced by non-white ethno-racial identities, further affects mental health outcomes. - What this study adds: ◦ Among a sample of urban-residing gbMSM in Vancouver, Canada, ethno-racial minority status was not associated with increased odds of reporting moderate/severe depression or anxiety symptoms. ◦ Asian gbMSM had reduced odds of reported anxiety symptoms and Latino men had reduced odds of depression symptoms compared with white men. - How this study might affect research, practice, or policy: ◦ More research is needed with ethno-racialized gbMSM to understand mental health risks and vulnerabilities and to qualify survival and resilience narratives surrounding mental health. ◦ Healthcare providers should recognize nuance in how racism and homophobia may uniquely interact to affect the mental health of individual gbMSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Institute of Latvian History / Latvijas Vēstures Institūta Žurnāls is the property of University of Latvia, Institute of Latvian History and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research has revealed that homosexual and bisexual people are at higher risk of mental health problems than heterosexual people. However, most studies have focused on differences in disorders and have not examined the intersection of gender and sexual orientation. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relevance of sexual orientation in women's and men's mental symptoms, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 309 women and men who were homosexual or bisexual and 309 women and men who were heterosexual, aged between 17 and 54. All participants were assessed by four self-reports measuring mental symptoms, life satisfaction, self-esteem, masculine/instrumental and feminine/expressive traits, and traditional gender role attitudes. Results showed an interaction between sexual orientation and gender, with lesbian or bisexual women scoring higher in severe depression symptoms and lower in life satisfaction than heterosexual women. Homosexual and bisexual people scored higher than heterosexuals in somatic symptoms, social dysfunction, and in self-esteem. Women scored higher than men in somatic, anxiety, and insomnia symptoms and in feminine/expressive traits, whereas men scored higher than women in traditional gender role attitudes. We conclude that sexual orientation and gender are relevant to the mental health and well-being of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with the heterosexual population, the prevalence of mental health outcomes such as suicidality (suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and suicide attempts) is higher among sexual minority youth, particularly those who identify themselves as bisexuals. Bisexuals are at an even elevated risk within the LGB populations due to biphobia, monosexism, bisexual invisibility or erasure, and lack of support resources. These experiences may bring about issues regarding concealment of their sexual orientation linked to suicidality. Studies have also identified that parental support is a protective factor against suicidality among the youth, particularly their sexual orientation. The present study used a cross-sectional, predictive research design to examine parental sexual orientation support and concealment and their associations and predictive abilities in the suicidality of 151 Filipino bisexual youths aged 18–24 years old. The participants were recruited online within six months, from July 2021 to December 2021. As measured by the Parental Support for Sexual Orientation Scale, Sexual Orientation Concealment Scale, and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised, results showed that among our bisexual participants, parental sexual orientation support and concealment did not have a significant relationship with and could not predict their risk for suicidality. Limitations and suggestions for further research were discussed, considering our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual violence is an understudied issue in the population of gay and bisexual men, although the existing articles to date demonstrate that it is a problem that merits public attention. This study aims to approach the problem of invisibility around the matter, as well as presenting a number of variables that have been usually overlooked in Spanish research or have not been assessed at all. Lifetime sexual victimization, sociodemographic characteristics, situational characteristics and social support were examined among 550 gay and bisexual males living in Spain using a self-administrated questionnaire. Results analysis show that 90.00% (87.18–92.38%) of participants reported at least one experience of unwanted insinuation, 87.27% (84.19–89.94%) reported at least one experience of sexual coercion, 64.00% (59.83–68.02%) reported at least one experience of sexual assault, and specifically 19.82% (16.57–23.40%) reported being raped during their lifetime. Significant differences have been found between some categories regarding gender identity, sexual orientation, age, race/ethnicity and educational level. Overall, these results showcase sexual violence as a pervasive problem in the Spanish gay and bisexual community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stigma is a significant contributor to the HIV diagnosis disparities experienced among migrants who are gay and bisexual men (GBM) living in high-income countries. Methods: We conducted interviews with 24 migrant GBM in Australia diagnosed with HIV from 2017 onwards, who since their diagnosis had become well-connected to sexual health services and participation in research. Interviews were conducted between October 2018 and December 2019. We aimed to identify how HIV and sexual identity stigmas were barriers to accessing HIV testing and prevention. Results: These stigmas were deeply embedded into social, cultural, and institutional settings in participants' countries of origin, resulting in poor HIV literacy, reluctance to access HIV-related services, including HIV testing, and fears of being identified as gay/bisexual publicly. Underpinned by internalised stigma, these fears and poor outcomes often persisted after moving to Australia. Other barriers to accessing HIV-related services in Australia included apprehension about a potential HIV-positive result and the possibility of visa cancellation, concerns about confidentiality, and a lack of confidence and support in navigating the healthcare system, including how to access pre-exposure prophylaxis. Conclusion: Addressing these multifaceted HIV testing and prevention barriers requires policies, systems, and interventions that increase health literacy about HIV testing, prevention, and treatment; build trust and confidence when navigating Australian health services; and reduce the impacts of HIV and sexual identity stigmas in migrants' countries of origin on their experiences in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Epidemics impact individuals unevenly across race, gender, and sexuality. In addition to being more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, evidence suggests racialized gender and sexual minorities experienced disproportionate levels of discrimination and stigma during the COVID-19 epidemic. Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), we examined the experiences of gay, bisexual, queer, and other men who have sex with men (GBQM) of colour facing discrimination during COVID-19. Design: Engage-COVID-19 is a mixed methods study examining the impact of COVID-19 on GBQM living in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal, Canada. We conducted two rounds of qualitative interviews (November 2020 to February 2021, and June to October 2021) with 93 GBQM to explore the evolving impact of COVID-19 on their lives. Transcripts were coded using inductive thematic analysis. Data analysis was conducted using Nvivo software. Results: Fifty-nine participants identified as Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of Colour (BIPOC). These GBQM of colour described multiple experiences of discrimination during COVID-19. Although participants did not report experiences of discrimination based on their sexual identity during COVID-19, we found that experiences of racism affected how they were treated within their sexual networks. Experiences of racism were most often reported by East Asian and Black GBQM. These participants faced racism in public and online spaces, primarily in the form of verbal harassment. Several participants were also harassed because they wore face masks. Verbal abuse against GBQM of colour was largely prompted by racist discourses related to COVID-19. Conclusion: Racism remains a pernicious threat to the well-being of GBQM of colour. CRT highlights the importance of assessing how sexualized and gendered discourses about race shape the experiences of GBQM of colour navigating multiple epidemics like COVID-19 and HIV. These pervasive discourses unevenly affect racial and sexual minorities across multiple epidemics, and negatively impact health outcomes for these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gay, bisexual, and queer-identifying (GBQ) communities tend to comprise various subcultural identity groups based around shared practices and intersectional identities, but little research has sought to qualitatively understand how these identities are situated within communities and enacted in everyday life. Further understanding subcultural identities is important as they reflect the diversity of GBQ men and potential health risks/differences between groups of men that may otherwise not be considered. This study aimed to advance understanding of GBQ subcultural identities in Australia by investigating how GBQ men come to adopt and express subcultural identities, such as 'Bear', 'Twink', or 'Daddy'. Fifteen gay, bisexual, and queer-identifying men living in Australia who identified with one or more GBQ subcultures participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews between September and November 2019. An inductive thematic analysis with semantic coding and a realist framework was used to assess patterns of meaning within the data. Two higher level themes emerged relating to discovering identity and evolving practices of identification, with sub-themes related to self-guided exploration, identification by others, and contextual changes in expressing identity. These findings highlight that adopting subcultural identities involved elements of exploring language and discourse and embracing or resisting identification. The ways in which subcultural identities were integrated and expressed appeared to evolve over time and shift within different contexts, including emphasising or suppressing aspects of identity. This knowledge expands understanding of GBQ subcultural identities and help inform culturally-sensitive considerations for health promotion, policy, and research that engages GBQ men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisexual people may appear to have more potential romantic partners than people only attracted to one gender (e.g., heterosexual, gay, lesbian people). However, bisexual people's dating choices are limited by non-bisexual people's reluctance to date bisexual people. Studies have indicated that some heterosexual, gay, and lesbian people are reluctant to date bisexual people, particularly bisexual men. We extend current understandings of gendered anti-bisexual bias through investigating heterosexual, bisexual, gay, and lesbian people's reported willingness to date within and outside of their sexual orientation groups. Participants (n = 1823) varying in sexual orientation completed measures regarding their willingness to engage in a romantic relationship with heterosexual, bisexual, gay, and lesbian individuals. Heterosexual and gay/lesbian people were less willing to date bisexual people than bisexual people were to date them, consistent with anti-bisexual bias rather than mere in-group preference. Preferences against dating bisexual men appeared particularly strong, even among bisexual women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although considerable research has examined how members of advantaged groups think and feel about disadvantaged groups, fewer studies have examined responses to "intermediate" social groups—groups that are perceived to fall between more commonly acknowledged groups on the same dimension of social identity. We measured judgments of intermediate groups, including novel groups designed to manipulate social group intermediacy (Studies 1–5), Black/White biracial people (Study 6), and bisexual people (Study 7). In each study, participants provided separate evaluations of an intermediate group and two comparison groups (e.g., Black/White biracial people, Black people, White people). Intermediate groups were consistently rated as less conceptually legitimate (e.g., less distinctive, not a "real" group) than other groups. The view that intermediate groups are not "real" groups helped explain negative evaluations of them, and participants who strongly identified with an advantaged ingroup were especially prone to this pattern of judgments. These results are consistent with the idea that an intermediate group can threaten the distinctiveness of a valued ingroup, leading people to dismiss and denigrate the intermediate group. Studying perceptions of intermediate groups facilitates a nuanced account of an increasingly heterogeneous social world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisexual Galton–Watson processes are discrete Markov chains where reproduction events are due to mating of males and females. Owing to this interaction, the standard branching property of Galton–Watson processes is lost. We prove tightness for conveniently rescaled bisexual Galton–Watson processes, based on recent techniques developed in [V. Bansaye, M.E. Caballero, and S. Méléard, Scaling limits of population and evolution processes in random environment, Electron. J. Probab. 24(19) (2019), pp. 1–38]. We also identify the possible limits of these rescaled processes as solutions of a stochastic system, coupling two equations through singular coefficients in Poisson terms added to square roots as coefficients of Brownian motions. Under some additional integrability assumptions, pathwise uniqueness of this limiting system of stochastic differential equations and convergence of the rescaled processes are obtained. Two examples corresponding to mutual fidelity are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For gay and bisexual men who are confronted with minority stress, online dating sites may provide opportunities for coping. Extant research has largely neglected this, and those pieces that did address it did not sufficiently account for different motivations of use. Two survey studies served to explore links between minority stress, online dating use, and well-being (Study 1: N = 97, Study 2: N = 25,884). The present work finds evidence that the use of online dating sites may have limited buffering effects on associations between minority stress and well-being. The findings contribute to existing work on online dating and the mental health of gay and bisexual men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society's binary understanding of gender and sexuality often render the identities of bisexual, queer, and pansexual (bi+) people invisible in everyday interactions. Furthermore, when a bi+ person gets married, they are often mistakenly presumed to have "made a choice" regarding their sexual preference or identity. What are the consequences – both negative and positive – of this perception? Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with 23 married bi+ individuals, this research extends the theory of doing gender to the context of doing sexuality to explore if and how married bi+ people attempt to make their sexual identities known in everyday interactions. Findings suggest that being married increased feelings of bisexual erasure. However, married bi+ people who were presumed by others to be heterosexual during interactions frequently reported taking advantage of passing to situationally avoid prejudice or discrimination. Applying a queer theoretical critique of heteronormativity and the binaries it reinforces, this research considers how increased visibility of married bi+ people could contribute to the deconstruction of gender and sexual binaries and the inequalities they create. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Our objective was to understand what gay, bisexual, and queer men (GBQM) who had experience using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) thought about the 'Undetectable equals Untransmittable' (U=U) message and how it informed their sexual decision-making over time. Methods. We conducted annual longitudinal qualitative interviews (2020-22) with 17 current or former PrEP users as part of a mixed-methods implementation science study examining barriers and facilitators to PrEP awareness, access, and adherence. Over 3 years, 47 interviews were conducted with GBQM in Ontario, Canada. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded in NVivo following reflexive thematic analysis. Results. Participants' sexual health decision-making was informed by their confidence in biomedical HIV prevention and the person taking medication (i.e. themselves using PrEP versus a real/imagined person living with HIV (PLHIV)). Longitudinal narratives of U=U clustered around four overarching themes: (1) U=U confidence (i.e. increasing trust in U=U irrespective of their PrEP use); (2) PrEP confidence (i.e. accounts of self-reliance and PrEP as sufficient HIV protection); (3) combination confidence (i.e. trusting U=U and PrEP as a package); and (4) partner confidence (i.e. potential 'distrust' of U=U due to uncertainties about partners' medication adherence). Overall, men described increased sex with PLHIV over time, including some participants who, during earlier interviews, said they would 'never be comfortable' with serodifferent sexual partners. Conclusions. GBQM's use of PrEP shaped how they thought about U=U and sex with PLHIV. Although many GBQM embraced treatment as prevention/U=U as significant to their sexual lives, longitudinal analysis revealed its varied and uneven adoption across participants and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men. There is growing recognition of disparities faced in diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment outcomes in sexual minorities, including gay and bisexual men, as well as transgender women. Although it is unclear whether sexual minorities have a higher incidence of prostate cancer compared to heterosexual men, several qualitative and quantitative studies have established worse quality-of-life outcomes for sexual minorities following prostate cancer treatment. Further studies are urgently warranted in this growing population in order to provide the best care to sexual minorities with prostate cancer. Prostate cancer has the highest incidence among all cancers in men. Sexual minorities, including gay and bisexual men, as well as transgender, were previously a "hidden population" that experienced prostate cancer. Although there continues to remain a paucity of data in this population, analyses from studies do not reveal whether this population is more likely to endure prostate cancer. Nonetheless, several qualitative and quantitative studies have established worse quality-of-life outcomes for sexual minorities following prostate cancer treatment. Increased awareness of this previously "hidden population" among healthcare workers, as well as more research, is warranted to gain further understanding on potential disparities faced by this growing population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subjectivities such as (what would be termed in English) lesbians, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women and transgender people are contested topics in Ukraine. Linking Laclau and Mouffe's discourse analysis with Loseke's narrative approach, we reviewed eight national, text‐based, journalistic media sources to read equivalence chains within the data as publicly available formula stories about LGBTQ+ people. Formula stories are not about actual people or typically told by LBQ women and transgender people themselves, but rather exist as publicly circulating stories for consumption by non‐LGBTQ+ people. Our findings shore up previous evidence that homophobia and transphobia (including criminalization and pathologization) are commonly articulated in media outlets in Ukraine. Importantly, media outlets owned by Russia and the United States and stories about events outside of Ukraine contribute most to the formula stories circulating in Ukraine, demonstrating the continuing position of Ukraine as a fulcrum of geopolitical contestations in the post‐socialist "cold war." Analyzing sexual politics through formula stories illuminates ongoing transnational connections of imperialism and Europeanization to racialization, colonialism, and contestations of power. A video abstract is available at https://youtu.be/v3dCj0yYm_g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a growth in research that is focused on the experiences of bisexual individuals. Bisexual individuals are disproportionately impacted by identity abuse, a form of intimate partner violence perpetrated against an individual's visible and/or invisible identities that serves to discredit, undermine or devalue those identities (Scheer et al., 2019). The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between experiences of identity abuse (in the past year and adulthood), depression and generalized anxiety symptoms, and how both are moderated by identity affirmation in a sample of 83 partnered bisexual people. A quarter of the sample endorsed having experienced at least one form of identity abuse in the past year and an overwhelming majority (66.3%) in their adulthood. Using moderation analyses, identity affirmation did not moderate the relationship between identity abuse in the past year and adulthood, and depression and generalized anxiety symptoms. These findings highlight the need to continue conducting research that is bisexual-specific in an effort to develop a better understanding of their experiences, stressors and protective factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disproportionately affect young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and transgender women of colour. We explored the experiences of community‐based peer navigators ('Community Navigators') who participated in Impact Triad, a bilingual multilevel intervention developed by our community‐based participatory research partnership to reduce STIs and HIV and address social determinants of health (e.g., employment, education, social support and discrimination) among young GBMSM and transgender women of colour. Methods: Individual in‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 Community Navigators who participated in Impact Triad. Themes were identified through constant comparison. Results: Community Navigators' mean age was 31.4 years. Seven were self‐identified as African American/Black, 5 as Latine, 2 as multiracial/multiethnic, 1 as Asian American, 10 as cisgender men, 4 as transgender women and 1 as gender nonbinary. Thirteen themes emerged in three domains: (1) key aspects of the Community Navigator role (e.g., desire to serve as a community resource, the importance of being part of the communities in which one was working, the value of having an official role, being connected to other Community Navigators to problem‐solving and sustaining intervention aspects long‐term); (2) experiences implementing Impact Triad (e.g., engaging community members, meeting prioritized needs, building trust, using social media, increasing awareness and knowledge and challenges related to COVID‐19) and (3) lessons learned for future interventions (e.g., facilitating access to broader resources, building additional skills and increasing interactions among Community Navigators). Conclusion: Interviews identified important learnings about serving as Community Navigators and implementing Impact Triad that can guide future efforts to address STI/HIV disparities and social determinants of health through community‐based peer navigation. Patient or Public Contribution: Throughout this intervention trial, our partnership worked collaboratively with a study‐specific community advisory board (CAB) comprised primarily of young GBMSM and transgender women of colour. Members of this CAB participated in all aspects of the trial including trial design, intervention development, recruitment and retention strategies, data collection and analysis, interpretation of findings and dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the attitudes of physical therapy (PT) students in Israel toward people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) and to identify the characteristics associated with the said attitudes. This multiinstitutional study is used as an observational design. Participants were 245 PT students (average age, 25.59 ± 3.10 years), who completed anonymous online questionnaires that included demographic characteristics; the Hebrew version of the Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Scale (ATHS); questions on learning about LGB, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQIA+); healthcare issues in the entry-level PT; and previous clinical encounters with patients who identified as LGBTQIA+. The median ATHS score was 107 out of 110 (range, 48–110; higher score indicating more positive attitudes), and multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that identifying as a woman and secular were predictors of positive attitudes toward LGB individuals. All students reported that they had no course on the LGBTQIA+ community in their undergraduate PT studies' curriculum. Most (80.88%) of those who had a clinical practice reported that they had not had a clinical encounter with a patient identifying as LGBTQIA+. PT students in Israel demonstrated positive attitudes toward LGB individuals, as reflected by their ATHS scores. PT students who identify as men and religious are more likely to hold negative attitudes toward LGB individuals. There is a need to expand the curricula on LGBTQIA+ healthcare and increase students' experiences with LGBTQIA+ patients to increase cultural competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blood operators screen donors to reduce the risk of transfusion‐transmitted infections (TTIs). Many are evolving screening procedures from those that defer all who have had a sexual interaction with gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) to an approach that assesses individual donors' recent sexual risk behavior with any partner. Study Design and Methods: A representative sample of current blood donors (N = 1194) was recruited online and randomized to complete either the existing (at the time of the study) Canadian Blood Services' donor questionnaire (DQ) that screens out those with recent gbMSM sexual experience, a modified donor questionnaire (MDQ) that assesses individuals' recent sexual behavior with any partner, or an MDQ that assesses individual sexual behavior with any partner and explains why these questions are asked. Respondents were asked for their perceptions concerning difficulty, comfort, and acceptability of these screening questionnaires. Results: Across experimental conditions, current donors regarded screening questionnaire difficulty to be low; discomfort in responding was minimal; screening questionnaires were perceived to be relatively inoffensive and justified, and very few donors would cease donating if the screening questionnaire they responded to became the one in general use. Some minor sex differences were observed, and in some cases, perceptions of the MDQ with explanation were somewhat more positive than those of the DQ and MDQ without explanation. Discussion: An individual risk behavior screening approach appears to be acceptable to current blood donors as an alternative to screening out all who have recently engaged in gbMSM sexual interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]