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Multi-Dimensional Factors Associated with Illegal Substance Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Taiwan
Multi-Dimensional Factors Associated with Illegal Substance Use Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Taiwan
- Source :
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 16, Issue 22
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- MDPI, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Illegal substance use in sexual minorities is an important health issue worldwide. The present cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the multi-dimensional factors associated with illegal substance use among gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. This questionnaire-survey study recruited 500 gay or bisexual men aged between 20 and 25 years. Their experiences of using eight kinds of illegal substances in the preceding month were collected. Their previous experiences of homophobic bullying, satisfaction with academic performance, truancy, perceived family and peer support in childhood and adolescence, and social-demographic characteristics, were also collected. Potential factors associated with illegal substance use were identified using univariate logistic regression, and further selected into a forward stepwise logistic regression model to identify the factors most significantly related to illegal substance use. A total of 22 (4.4%) participants reported illegal substance use in the preceding month, and mean age was 22.9 &plusmn<br />1.6. Forward stepwise logistic regression revealed that being victims of homophobic cyberbullying in childhood and adolescence (odds ratio (OR) = 1.26<br />p = 0.011), disclosure of sexual orientation at junior high school (OR = 4.67<br />p = 0.001), and missing classes or truancy in senior high school (OR = 2.52<br />p = 0.041) were significantly associated with illegal substance use in early adulthood. Multi-dimensional factors in childhood and adolescence that were significantly associated with illegal substance use in early adulthood among gay and bisexual men were identified. Besides traditional bullying, the effect of cyberbullying and school performance on illegal substance use should not be ignored. This study is limited to the cross-sectional design and possible recall bias. Mental health professionals must routinely assess these significant factors to prevent and intervene in illegal substance use among gay and bisexual men.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Substance-Related Disorders
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Taiwan
Poison control
Suicide prevention
Article
03 medical and health sciences
Sexual and Gender Minorities
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
Recall bias
sexual minorities
Surveys and Questionnaires
Injury prevention
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
030212 general & internal medicine
illegal substance use
05 social sciences
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Human factors and ergonomics
Bullying
Mental health
Cross-Sectional Studies
Logistic Models
Sexual orientation
Female
Truancy
Psychology
homophobic bullying
050104 developmental & child psychology
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 16604601 and 16617827
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 22
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....7dbd4900ca7c0b0dd45e07af5012b955