Study focuses on mental health of gay men amid pandemic

Sixty-three percent of men who participated in a new  UCLA-led study reported only leaving their home for essentials amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And that being in isolation contributed  to feelings of anxiety and loneliness, and dissatisfaction with their sex life.The study, by the  Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, was published in the Journal of Homosexuality. It focuses on a group that historically has been disproportionately affected by poor health outcomes.  The results are based on responses from more than 10,000 men in 20 countries via a survey conducted in April and May 2020 on Hornet, a social networking app, which also participated in the research.The paper ’s lead author, Ian Holloway, is faculty director of UCLA’s Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative, which is dedicated to understanding the complexities of gay male sexuality. Other authors are from UC San Francisco and the LGBT Foundation in San Francisco.Participants were asked 58 questions about the impact of stay-at-home orders on their lives. Those who reported not going out or only going out for essentials were categorized as staying in. Everyone else, including essential workers and those who said they continued to go out socially amid the pandemic, were categorized as not staying in.The  study found that those who have stayed in during the pandemic were:37% more likely to feel anxious than those who haven ’t stayed in.36% more likely...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news