Open AccessSexual Orientation, Religious Coping, and Drug Use in a Sample of HIV-Infected African-American Men Living in the Southern USA
Author(s) -
Linda M. Skalski,
Bianca Martin,
Christina S. Meade
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of religion and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.548
H-Index - 40
eISSN - 1573-6571
pISSN - 0022-4197
DOI - 10.1007/s10943-019-00791-0
Subject(s) - sexual orientation , coping (psychology) , religiosity , psychology , spirituality , clinical psychology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , sexual minority , population , drug , developmental psychology , demography , medicine , social psychology , psychiatry , immunology , alternative medicine , sociology , pathology
Religiosity and spirituality are associated with reduced drug use in the general population, but it is unclear whether this relationship generalizes to sexual minorities. This study investigated the relationship between religious coping, drug use, and sexual orientation in a sample of HIV-infected African-American men (40 heterosexuals; 64 sexual minorities). Most participants (76%) reported being "moderately" or "very" religious. We found no main effect of religious coping or sexual orientation on frequency of drug use. However, there was an interaction between positive religious coping and sexual orientation. Among heterosexuals, positive religious coping was inversely associated with frequency of drug use. However, this relationship was not significant among sexual minorities. Findings suggest HIV-infected African-American sexual minorities living in the South may need additional coping resources to decrease vulnerability to drug use.