Description

Sexual minority men (SMM) are at elevated risk of substance use compared to their heterosexual counterparts, especially Latino SMM. Researchers have divided the concept of machismo, defined as masculine gender role norms in Latino culture, into two categories: Traditional machismo and caballerismo. Traditional machismo characterized as aggression, sexism, and wishful thinking. Caballerismo encompasses family-centered orientation, chivalry and problem-solving. The current study examined the associations between traditional machismo and caballerismo with illicit substance use. We hypothesized that elevated traditional machismo would be associated with higher odds of illicit substance use whereas elevated caballerismo would be associated with decreased odds of illicit substance use. We recruited 151 Latino SMM (Mage = 24.18, SD = 3.19) from San Diego through paid advertisements on hook-up sites (e.g., Grindr). A series of binary logistic regressions were performed to examine the associations between traditional machismo and caballerismo with the binary outcome reflecting use (versus no use) for cocaine, heroin, opiates, amphetamines, hallucinogens, and sedatives/tranquilizers within the past month. Traditional machismo was associated with increased odds of use of cocaine [OR = 2.47, CI [1.68, 3.64], p <.001], heroin [OR = 3.01, CI [1.60, 4.87], p < .001], opiates [OR = 3.00, CI [1.81, 5.00], p < .001], sedatives/tranquilizers [OR = 2.38, CI [1.46, 3.88], p < .001], amphetamines [OR = 3.74, CI [2.05, 6.82], p < .001] and hallucinogens [OR = 1.66, CI [1.12, 2.44], p < .001]. Caballerismo was associated with decreased odds of use of cocaine [OR = .429, CI [.293, .629], p < .001], heroin [OR = .356, CI [.230, .551], p < .001], opiates [OR = .447, CI [.296, .676], p < .001], sedatives/tranquilizers [OR = .607, CI [.406, .909], p = .015], amphetamines [OR = .499, CI [.335, .744], p < .001] and hallucinogens [OR = .627, CI [.424, .929], p = .020]. Clinicians could incorporate values based work and evaluate whether Latino SMM’s values align or differentiate from cultural standards of masculinity.