Multivariate Relations Between Lifetime Adversity and Substance Use Involvement: Comparisons Between Gay and Bisexual Emerging Adult Men

Abstract

This study investigated multivariate relations between (a) lifetime experiences of adversity and (b) past year substance use involvement among cisgender sexual minority emerging adult men, ages 18–29 years. Ethnically and racially diverse samples of gay (N = 205, age M = 24.33 years) and bisexual men (N = 201, age M = 23.31 years) were recruited from the United States using the internet-based CloudResearch platform to complete 20-minute online surveys. Canonical correlation analyses (CCAs) documented a higher canonical correlation between canonical variates among gay (.471) compared to bisexual (.346) men, as well as differing amounts of shared variance (22.2% vs. 12.0%). Examination of the standardized canonical coefficients and structure coefficients highlighted differences between gay and bisexual men in variables contributing most to the synthetic predictor and criterion variables. Information about these group differences may be used to tailor selected prevention initiatives for substance use problems among emerging adult sexual minority men.