Sexual Health of Latino Gay Men: Sonya Arreola's Seminar Series Presentation 

On December 6^th, 2011Sonya Arreola was our last speaker for the semester at the Center of Research & Education on Gender and Sexuality (CREGS). Dr. Arreola is a researcher who studies the association between childhood sexual abuse and HIV risks among Latino gay men, among other topics. She presented to a room full of students, center staff, and many others, including researchers she knows and adores. In her presentation, “Sexual Health of Latino Gay Men: Creating Theory to Guide Intervention,” she uncovered why child sexual abuse and other sociocultural and environmental factors may contribute to risk taking behaviors in Latino gay men.

Dr. Arreola found that forced sexual experiences as children, coupled with the impacts of homophobia, tends to play a role in the way these men have sex as adults. She came up with a theoretical model that illustrates how childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is linked with childhood homophobia in which they both lead to psychological distress. This distress could lead to increased exposure to risky sexual situations which contribute to the choice to engage in risky sexual behavior (such as unprotected anal sex). Additionally, Dr. Arreola found that risky sexual situations is are also associated with experiences of homophobia (both internal and external) in childhood through adulthood. Even though dissociation is difficult to measure, Dr. Arreola included examples of Latino gay men sharing about shutting down and psychologically disengaging themselves from what may have happened by referring themselves as if it were someone else.

With clear understanding of her topic, Dr. Arreola spoke with enthusiasm about her research on Latino gay men and their sexual health. She shared examples of ways to empower Latino gay men to cope, such as community involvement and positive relationships with their teachers, lovers, and family members. In the future, she would like to explore how helping gay Latino men who experienced CSA deal with their past abuse might help put them back on track towards great sexual health.

Her presentation was not without controversy, so it was not surprising that Dr. Arreola received many questions from a very intrigued, yet generally supportive audience, causing an engaging group discussion. The Center of Research & Education on Gender and Sexuality is very pleased to have Dr. Sonya Arreola share her research about childhood sexual abuse and the sexual health of Latino gay men at the Center of Resource on Gender and Sexuality Seminar Series.

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Sonya Arreola, PhD, MPH is a senior research scientist at RTI with 15 years of experience in community-based sexual health research. She is currently a co-investigator on an NIAAA funded project that examines the individual, environ-mental and social determinants of alcohol abuse and sexual health among Latino migrant day laborers. As a clinical psychologist and epidemiologist, Dr. Arreola has a deep appreciation of the interrelationships among the many negative and positive sexual health outcomes as well as the complex determinants of these out-comes, including individual, sociocultural, and environmental factors.

Save the Dates for the Spring 2012 Lecture Series.

The speakers are still being determined

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - Viktoria Sukovata

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - Charlotte Tate

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - Deborah Brown

Special Session: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - ome Lopez and the Let's Chat PAR Team