2 - (IOP 27) Examining the Prospective Multiplicative Effects of Racism and Sexual Minority Stress on Disordered Eating in Sexually Diverse Men of Color

Although eating disorder (ED) symptoms are pervasive in sexually diverse men (SDM), most research has treated this population as a monolith, which impedes our ability to understand diversity within SDM. This lack of attention to heterogeneity within marginalized communities has resulted in “intersectional invisibility,” which has resulted in an emaciated body of research examining how systems of oppression are associated with fluctuations in ED symptoms at the intersection of multiple social identities. The purpose of the present study was to model the multiplicative effects of racial discrimination and sexual minority stressors changes in ED symptoms over the course of a month in SDM of Color. Participants were 139 SDM of Color and completed self-report measures at baseline and 1-month follow-up for ED symptoms (Eating Pathology Symptom Inventory), racial discrimination (General Ethnic Discrimination Scale), and sexual minority stressors (e.g., Heterosexist Harassment, Rejection, Discrimination Scale; Internalized Homophobia Scale; and Gay Community Stress Scale-short form). A series of regressions were used to examine the main and interaction effects between racial discrimination and sexual minority stressors on excessive exercise, binge eating, purging, and restriction. Our findings suggest that the interaction effects between sexual minority stressors and racial discrimination predicted increases in excessive exercise, binge eating, and purging (ps < .004), but not restriction (ps > .115) in SDM of Color. At low levels of internalized sexual minority stigma, racial discrimination predicted an increase in excessive exercise over the course of a month (b = 0.06, p = .030), but not at high levels of internalized sexual minority stigma (b = -0.06, p = .080). By contrast at high levels of intraminority stress, racial discrimination predicted an increase in binge eating over the course of a month (b = 0.08, p = .020), but not at low levels (b=-0.04, p=.300). Finally, simple slope analyses revealed that at high levels of intraminority stress, racial discrimination predicted increases in purging (b = 0.07, p = .010), but not at low levels. (b=-0.02, p=.480) Results from this study provide several targetable stress processes that may be used to guide the prevention and treatment of disordered eating in men with multiple stigmatized identities. Our findings reinforce the necessity for culturally responsive/affirming interventions for SDM of Color that recognize the impact of multiple systems of oppression in the development and maintenance of disordered eating.