| Title | Mental Well-Being and Sexual Intimacy among Men and Gender Diverse People Who Have Sex with Men during the First UK COVID-19 Lockdown: A Mixed-Methods Study. |
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| Type | Journal article |
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| Authors | Edelman, N.L., Witzel, T.C., Samba, P., Nutland, W. and Nadarzynski, T. |
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| Abstract | This mixed-methods study aimed to explore mental well-being, circumstances and strategies around managing sexual intimacy and risk during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown (Spring 2020) among men and gender diverse people who have sex with men (MGDPSM), commencing while lockdown was in progress. n = 1429 MGDPSM completed the survey and 14 undertook an in-depth interview. Low mental well-being was reported by 49.6% of the survey participants. Low mental well-being was not predicted by relationship and living circumstance, sexual networking app use, or by casual sexual partners. Low mental well-being was associated with more frequent COVID-19 anxiety (OR = 5.08 CI: 3.74, 6.88 <i>p</i> < 0.001) and with younger age (18-24 years OR = 2.23 CI:1.41-3.53 <i>p</i> = 0.001, 25-34 years OR = 1.45 CI:1.04-2.02 <i>p</i> = 0.029, 35-44 years OR = 1.41 CI:1.00-1.99 <i>p</i> = 0.052). The interview participants understood their lockdown experiences as being relative to normalcy, and those experiencing more dramatic changes faced greater challenges. Living with partners was felt to protect well-being. Many participants reported intimacy interruption challenges. The findings indicate that mental well-being is predicted by age and COVID-19 impact, highlighting opportunities for targeting MGDPSM who are most vulnerable to poor mental health. Services that support MGDPSM during COVID-19 recovery efforts must provide non-judgemental and affirming support. |
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| Keywords | Sexual behaviour |
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| Mental health |
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| MSM |
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| Intimacy |
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| Well-being |
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| Mixed-methods |
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| Gender-diverse |
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| Covid-19 |
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| Humans |
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| Mental Health |
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| Communicable Disease Control |
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| Adolescent |
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| Adult |
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| Sexual Partners |
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| Male |
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| Young Adult |
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| United Kingdom |
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| COVID-19 |
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| Article number | 6985 |
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| Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
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| Journal citation | 19 (12) |
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| ISSN | 1660-4601 |
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| 1661-7827 |
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| Year | 2022 |
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| Publisher | MDPI |
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| Publisher's version | License CC BY 4.0 File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
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| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19126985 |
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| PubMed ID | 35742234 |
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| Publication dates |
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| Published | 07 Jun 2022 |
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| Published online | 07 Jun 2022 |
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| Published in print | 01 Jun 2022 |
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| License | CC BY |
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