Marley Warren
Pronouns: he, him, his
Research Mentor(s): Craig Rodriguez-Seijas, Assistant Professor
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Department of Psychology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 2 (11am – 11:50am)
Breakout Room: Room 20
Presenter: 1
Abstract
Background: This literature review explores the publicly available scholarship relating to personality, the externalizing spectrum of psychopathology, and sex-related substance use in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Method: Academic articles dating back to 1981 were identified using keyword searches on databases such as PsychInfo, Google Scholar, and JSTOR. Studies that exclusively utilized open-ended unstructured interviews or grouped GBMSM with women were excluded. Results: A general pattern across a majority of the identified scholarship on personality is that GBMSM men score equal to or slightly above heterosexual men on all of the Big Five Personality Domains. Literature also suggests that GBMSM males partake in specific maladaptive substance use, sexual, and suicidal behaviors at higher population levels than heterosexual men; these behaviors are correlated with particular personality domains. The two-factor Externalizing-Internalizing model offers one framework with which to understand these behaviors. Discussion: These findings have important implications for de-pathologizing and de-stigmatizing GBMSM men’s sexual and substance use behaviors and can increase clinicians’ understanding of the underlying pathways by which minority stress and stigmatization lead to potentially maladaptive behaviors.
Authors: Marley Warren, Craig Rodriguez-Seijas
Research Method: Clinical Research
