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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Higher identity resilience – self-efficacy is associated with sexual risk behaviours in gay men

Rusi Jaspal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8463-9519 A * and Asrin Yenihayat B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Vice-Chancellor’s Office, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK.

B Faculty of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Milan Italy. Email: mehmetasrin.yenihayat01@icatt.it

* Correspondence to: rusi.jaspal@cantab.net

Handling Editor: Ian Simms

Sexual Health 21, SH24211 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH24211
Submitted: 31 October 2024  Accepted: 28 November 2024  Published: 17 December 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Cross-sectional survey data from 226 heterosexual and 201 gay men in the UK and Germany, analysed using moderation analyses, showed a positive relationship between identity resilience – self-efficacy and engaging in condomless sex and drug use in sexualised settings in gay men only. It is proposed that higher self-efficacy may lead to increased feelings of invincibility in gay men, which in turn is associated with sexual risk-taking.

Keywords: chemsex, condomless sex, drug use in sexualised settings, gay men, heterosexual men, identity resilience, self-efficacy, sexual risk.

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