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Mental Health Service Use in a Sample of Gay, Bisexual, and other Men who have Sex with Men Living in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada: An Exploratory Analysis

Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
6 January 2017

Abstract

Risks of mental health issues (e.g., depression, anxiety/mood disorders, and suicidality) are found to be elevated among Canadian gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (GB-MSM). We studied factors impacting mental health care use in a community sample of 202 GB-MSM in London-Middlesex, Ontario. Our results show that, for the entire sample, experiences of both homophobia and internalized homonegativity are associated with increased prevalence of mental health service use over the past year, and suggest that service use is lower among immigrant GB-MSM than among those born in Canada. Implications for mental health and social service providers are discussed.

Résumé

Les risques de problèmes de santé mentale (p, ex. la dépression, l’anxiété, les troubles de l’humeur et les tendances suicidaires) se trouvent à être élevé parmi les canadiens gais, bisexuels et les hommes ayant des relations sexuelles avec d’autres hommes (GB-HARSAH). Nous avons étudié les facteurs qui influencent l’utilisation des soins de santé mentale dans un échantillon communautaire de 202 GBHARSAH à London-Middlesex, en Ontario. Nos résultats montrent que, pour la totalité de l’échantillon, les expériences d’homophobie et d’homonégativité intériorisée sont associées avec une augmentation de la prévalence d’utilisation des services de santé mentale pendant l’année précédente. Ils suggèrent également que l’utilisation des services est moins élevée parmi les GB-HARSAH immigrants quand ils sont comparés à ceux qui sont nés au Canada. Les implications pour les fournisseurs de services sociaux et de santé mentale sont discutées.

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Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 35Number 3December 2016
Pages: 1 - 24

History

Version of record online: 6 January 2017

Key Words

  1. mental health service use
  2. gay
  3. bisexual
  4. men who have sex with men

Mots clés

  1. utilisation des services de soins de santé mentale
  2. hommes gais
  3. bisexuels
  4. et ayant des relations sexuelles avec d’autres hommes

Authors

Affiliations

Todd A. Coleman
University of Western Ontario, and Ryerson University
Greta R. Bauer [email protected]
University of Western Ontario
Gloria Aykroyd
Leanne Powell
Daniel Pugh

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