Emotional, behavioral, and HIV risks associated with sexual abuse among adult homosexual and bisexual men.

From May 1989 through April 1990, 1,001 adult homosexual and bisexual men attending urban sexually transmitted disease clinics were interviewed regarding abusive sexual contacts during childhood and adolescence. Sexual abuse was found to be significantly associated with mental health counseling and hospitalization, psychoactive substance use, depression, suicidal thought or actions, social support, sexual identity development, HIV risk behavior including unprotected and intercourse and injecting drug use, and risk of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV infection. Data suggest that sexual abuse may have a wide-ranging influence on the quality of life and health risk behavior of homosexual men. Increased awareness as to the potential outcomes of male sexual abuse is critically important to the design and implementation of medical and psychological services for sexually abused men.