Identity and Community Among Gay and Bisexual Men in the AIDS Era: Preliminary Findings From The Sacramento Men’s Health Study

This chapter describes preliminary results from an ongoing study of the linkages between gay and bisexual men’s sense of identity and community and their HIV-related risk behavior and psychological functioning in the AIDS era. Recognizing that AIDS now represents an ongoing fact of life and death for the gay community rather than a transient crisis, an increasing body of empirical research conceptualizes AIDS as one of many stressors confronting the community (e.g., Dean, this volume). Some researchers have addressed issues such as the psychological impact of AIDS-related bereavement (e.g., Folkman, 1993; Martin, 1988; Martin & Dean, 1993) and the broader impact of HIV on the community (Levine, Nardi, & Gagnon, forthcoming). Others have discussed ways in which variations in the construction of identity can affect risk behaviors (e.g., Carballo-Diéguez, this volume). Still others have demonstrated the value of incorporating issues of community and identity into AIDS intervention programs (e.g., Hays & Peterson, 1994). In our research, we are collecting questionnaire and interview data from a sample of gay and bisexual men in Sacramento (CA) to examine how various facets of personal identity and community involvement are related to personal risk reduction and healthy psychological functioning in the era of AIDS. In this chapter, we present preliminary data relevant to three questions. First, to what extent do variables related to identity and community help us to understand gay and bisexual men’s HIV risk-reduction behaviors? Second, to what extent do those variables help us to understand how gay and bisexual men are functioning psychologically in the era of AIDS? Third, how are qualitative variations in men’s personal constructions of community and identity linked to their risk reduction and psychological functioning?