This panel will examine various viewpoints on context-responsive measures of intersectional stigma (ISS), which remains a fundamental driver of HIV and sexual health disparities in the US. Among Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM). ISS can manifest as enacted, anticipated, and internalized mechanisms in relation to Latino ethnicity, sexuality, and ‘traditional’ masculinity norms. We hypothesize that how ISS manifests to affect behavioral health is context dependent, requiring measurement approaches that are responsive to LMSM’s social, sociopolitical, and intrapersonal experiences.

Regarding the social context, Dr. Smith will discuss a novel social network ISS measurement approach; demonstrating how the relationships between anticipated and enacted stigma towards LMSM’s Latino, sexuality, and ethnic identities vary across different social relationships. In the family context, exposure to stereotypes related to one’s ethnicity explain limited variance, where sexuality and masculinity stigma present as distinct but interrelated constructs with masculinity stereotypes uniquely and directly affecting sexuality stereotypes (RMSEA=0.11, CFI=0.95, TLI=0.93, SRMR=0.03).

Responding to changes in the sociopolitical context, Dr. Kelly will discuss the validation of the Internalized Homophobia (sexuality stigma) Scale (Herek, 2009) revised in response to community feedback that the original scale which utilized endorsement of conversion therapy among other stigmatizing language would cause unintended harm in the current sociopolitical environment. Results from the revised 5-item scale show acceptable internal reliability (α=0.70) and construct validity in relation to measures of internalized Latino (α=0.86, r=0.28, p<0.001) and masculinity stigma (α=0.89, r=0.41, p<0.001).

Examining how intersecting identities manifest within LMSM, Dr. Algarin will expand on Quinn and Earnshaw’s (2013) Construction of Stigmatized Identity Model to discuss the intrapersonal relationships between the magnitude (centrality, salience) and valance (pride, internalized stigma) of Latino, sexuality, and masculine identities in relation to psychological well-being. Findings speak to the unique relationships between identity salience and internalized stigma on depression (Mode 1) and anxiety symptoms (Model 2) compared to the unique relationships between identity centrality, pride, and internalized stigma on resilience (Model 3; all fit indices: RMSEA<0.07, CFI/TLI ≥0.9, SRMR<0.08).