Discrimination and Rejection: The Effects of Ethnic and Sexuality-Based Discrimination Against Latino Gay and Bisexual Men

Latino gay and bisexual men (GBM) may experience discrimination attributed to their sexual orientation and ethnicity, necessitating an examination of their experiences from an intersectional lens. While relationships between discrimination and the internalization of those messages have been previously researched, less is known about experiencing discrimination attributed to different identities and its relationships with discrete attributions of internalized stigma. Understanding how different attributes of identity-based discrimination are related to different attributes of identity-based internalization of stigma among gay and bisexual men of color may be important in the design of interventions to help Latino GBM cope with discrimination and prevent negative mental health outcomes. In order to achieve this aim, the current study utilized data from the Latino MSM Community Involvement: HIV Protective Effects Study, which included 571 self-identified Latino GBM. Results demonstrate that experiences of external anti-Latino discrimination were significantly linked to both internalized ethnicity- and sexuality-based stigma, whereas experiences of external sexuality-based discrimination were not significantly linked with internalized ethnicity- or sexuality-based stigma. Results suggest a need for future research to further examine effects of external ethnic discrimination on the psychosocial health of Latino GBM.