Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Religiosity and Conversion Therapy is Associated with Psychosocial Health Problems among Sexual Minority Men (SMM) in Nigeria

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Religion and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigated the associations between social marginalization, psychosocial health, and religiosity among sexual minority men (SMM) in Nigeria (N = 406). We conducted bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. Factors associated with reporting a history of conversion therapy at a religious institution were: being HIV positive, having depressive symptoms, reporting suicide thoughts, and reporting inability to access medical care. Factors associated with increased odds of agreeing that sex between two men was a sin were: residing in Plateau, being Muslim, and higher levels of internalized homophobia. Our findings support the need for LGBT-affirming religious doctrine, which has implications for the health of LGBT communities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Due to the sensitivity of the subject matter and the study population, the data is not publicly available.

References

  • Abu-Raiya, H. (2013). On the links between religion, mental health and inter-religious conflict: a brief summary of empirical research. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 50(2), 130–139.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ahaneku, H., Ross, M. W., Nyoni, J. E., Selwyn, B., Troisi, C., Mbwambo, J., Adeboye, A., & McCurdy, S. (2016). Depression and HIV risk among men who have sex with men in Tanzania. AIDS Care, 28(sup1), 140–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amusan, L., Saka, L., & Adekeye, M. O. (2019). Gay rights and the politics of anti-homosexual legislation in Africa: insights from Uganda and Nigeria. Journal of African Union Studies, 8(2), 45–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balaji, A. B., Oster, A. M., Viall, A. H., Heffelfinger, J. D., Mena, L. A., & Toledo, C. A. (2012). Role flexing: how community, religion, and family shape the experiences of young black men who have sex with men. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 26(12), 730–737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2012). Religious affiliation, internalized homophobia, and mental health in lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(4), 505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiluwa, I. (2008). Religious vehicle stickers in Nigeria: A discourse of identity, faith and social vision. Discourse & Communication, 2(4), 371–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiluwa, I. (2012). Online religion in Nigeria: the internet church and cyber miracles. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 47(6), 734–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dangerfield, D. T., Williams, J. E., Bass, A. S., Wynter, T., & Bluthenthal, R. N. (2019). Exploring religiosity and spirituality in the sexual decision-making of black gay and bisexual men. Journal of Religion and Health, 58(5), 1792–1802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton, W. W., Smith, C., Ybarra, M., Muntaner, C., & Tien, A. (2004). Center for epidemiologic studies depression scale: review and revision (CESD and CESD-R).

  • Feinstein, B. A., Dyar, C., Milstone, J. S., Jabbour, J., & Davila, J. (2020). Use of different strategies to make one’s bisexual+ identity visible: Associations with dimensions of identity, minority stress, and health. Stigma and Health.

  • Haldeman, D. C. (1994). The practice and ethics of sexual orientation conversion therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 221.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haldeman, D. C. (2002). Therapeutic antidotes: Helping gay and bisexual men recover from conversion therapies. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 5(3–4), 117–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haldeman, D. C. (1996). Spirituality and religion in the lives of lesbians and gay men.

  • Hamblin, R. J., & Gross, A. M. (2014). Religious faith, homosexuality, and psychological well-being: a theoretical and empirical review. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 18(1), 67–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hays, R. D., & DiMatteo, M. R. (1987). A short-form measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 51(1), 69–81.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Higbee, M., Wright, E. R., & Roemerman, R. M. (2020). Conversion Therapy in the Southern United States: Prevalence and Experiences of the Survivors. Journal of homosexuality, pp. 1–20.

  • Johnston, L. B., & Jenkins, D. (2006). Lesbians and gay men embrace their sexual orientation after conversion therapy and ex-gay ministries: a qualitative study. Social Work in Mental Health, 4(3), 61–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone, P., & Mandryk, J. (2001). Operation World, 21st century ed. Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Paternoster Lifestyle, 663.

  • Kubicek, K., McDavitt, B., Carpineto, J., Weiss, G., Iverson, E. F., & Kipke, M. D. (2009). “God made me gay for a reason” young men who have sex with men’s resiliency in resolving internalized homophobia from religious sources. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24(5), 601–633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lassiter, J. M., & Parsons, J. T. (2016). Religion and spirituality’s influences on HIV syndemics among MSM: A systematic review and conceptual model. AIDS and Behavior, 20(2), 461–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lassiter, J. M., Brewer, R., & Wilton, L. (2019a). Black sexual minority men’s disclosure of sexual orientation is associated with exposure to homonegative religious messages. American Journal of Men’s Health, 13(1), 1557988318806432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lassiter, J. M., Saleh, L., Grov, C., Starks, T., Ventuneac, A., & Parsons, J. T. (2019b). Spirituality and multiple dimensions of religion are associated with mental health in gay and bisexual men: results from the one thousand strong cohort. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 11(4), 408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, R. E., Oquendo, M. A., & Stanley, B. (2016). Religion and suicide risk: a systematic review. Archives of Suicide Research, 20(1), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGee, R. W. (2016). Does religion influence views toward homosexuality: an empirical study of 16 countries. Available at SSRN 2799871.

  • Meanley, S., Haberlen, S. A., Okafor, C. N., Brown, A., Brennan-Ing, M., Ware, D., Egan, J. E., Teplin, L. A., Bolan, R. K., & Friedman, M. R. (2020a). Lifetime exposure to conversion therapy and psychosocial health among midlife and older adult men who have sex with men. The Gerontologist, 60(7), 1291–1302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meanley, S. P., Stall, R. D., Dakwar, O., Egan, J. E., Friedman, M. R., Haberlen, S. A., Okafor, C., Teplin, L. A., & Plankey, M. W. (2020b). Characterizing experiences of conversion therapy among middle-aged and older men who have sex with men from the multicenter AIDS cohort study (MACS). Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 17(2), 334–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oginni, O. A., Mosaku, K. S., Mapayi, B. M., Akinsulore, A., & Afolabi, T. O. (2018). Depression and associated factors among gay and heterosexual male university students in Nigeria. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 47(4), 1119–1132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oginni, O. A., Mapayi, B. M., Afolabi, O. T., Obiajunwa, C., & Oloniniyi, I. O. (2020). Internalized homophobia, coping, and quality of life among Nigerian gay and bisexual men. Journal of Homosexuality, 67(10), 1447–1470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogunbajo, A., Iwuagwu, S., Williams, R., Biello, K., & Mimiaga, M. J. (2019). Awareness, willingness to use, and history of HIV PrEP use among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Nigeria. PloS one, 14(12).

  • Ogunbajo, A., Abubakari, G. M. R., Edeza, A., Iwuagwu, S., Williams, R., Biello, K., & Mimiaga, M. J. (2020). Transactional sex is associated with income level and psychosocial health problems among gay and bisexual men (GBM) in Nigeria, Africa. The Journal of Sex Research, 1–7.

  • Ogunbajo, A., Iwuagwu, S., Williams, R., Biello, K. B., Kahler, C. W., Sandfort, T., & Mimiaga, M. J. (2020). Validation of depressive symptoms, social support, and minority stress scales among Gay, Bisexual, and other men who have with men (GBMSM) in Nigeria, Africa: A Mixed Methods Approach.

  • Ogunbajo, A., Oginni, O. A., Iwuagwu, S., Williams, R., Biello, K., & Mimiaga, M. J. (2020). Experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with psychosocial health problems among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Nigeria, Africa. Journal of interpersonal violence, 0886260520966677.

  • Ogunbajo, A., Restar, A., Edeza, A., Goedel, W., Jin, H., Iwuagwu, S., Williams, R., Abubakari, M. R., Biello, K., & Mimiaga, M. (2020). Poor sleep health is associated with increased mental health problems, substance use, and HIV sexual risk behavior in a large, multistate sample of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Nigeria, Africa. Sleep Health.

  • Okanlawon, K. (2020). Homophobia in Nigerian schools and universities: Victimization, Mental Health Issues, Resilience of the LGBT Students and support from Straight Allies. A Literature review. Journal of LGBT Youth, 1–33.

  • Olson, M. M., Trevino, D. B., Geske, J. A., & Vanderpool, H. (2012). Religious coping and mental health outcomes: an exploratory study of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients. Explore, 8(3), 172–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osundina, A., Fatoye, F., Akanni, O., Omoreagba, J., Akinsulore, A., & Oloniniyi, I. (2017). Burden and coping styles among caregivers of patients with major mental disorders and hypertension attending a Nigerian tertiary hospital. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry, 33(3), 189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Outland, P. L. (2016). Developing the LGBT minority stress measure Colorado State University. Libraries].

  • Rodriguez-Hart, C., Bradley, C., German, D., Musci, R., Orazulike, I., Baral, S., Liu, H., Crowell, T. A., Charurat, M., & Nowak, R. G. (2018). The synergistic impact of sexual stigma and psychosocial well-being on HIV testing: a mixed-methods study among Nigerian men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 22(12), 3905–3915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. (2015). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, R., Kulhara, P., Grover, S., Kumar, S., Malhotra, R., & Tyagi, S. (2011). Contribution of spirituality to quality of life in patients with residual schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 190(2–3), 200–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shilo, G., & Savaya, R. (2012). Mental health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and young adults: differential effects of age, gender, religiosity, and sexual orientation. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(2), 310–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sowe, B. J., Brown, J., & Taylor, A. J. (2014). Sex and the sinner: Comparing religious and nonreligious same-sex attracted adults on internalized homonegativity and distress. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092–1097.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stahlman, S., Grosso, A., Ketende, S., Pitche, V., Kouanda, S., Ceesay, N., Ouedraogo, H. G., Ky-Zerbo, O., Lougue, M., & Diouf, D. (2016). Suicidal ideation among MSM in three West African countries: associations with stigma and social capital. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 62(6), 522–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoloff, K., Joska, J. A., Feast, D., De Swardt, G., Hugo, J., Struthers, H., McIntyre, J., & Rebe, K. (2013). A description of common mental disorders in men who have sex with men (MSM) referred for assessment and intervention at an MSM clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. AIDS and Behavior, 17(1), 77–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tozer, E. E., & McClanahan, M. K. (1999). Treating the purple menace: ethical considerations of conversion therapy and affirmative alternatives. The Counseling Psychologist, 27(5), 722–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker-Seeley, R. D., Mitchell, J. A., Shires, D. A., & Modlin, C. S., Jr. (2015). Financial hardship, unmet medical need, and health self-efficacy among African American men. Health Education & Behavior, 42(3), 285–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tudge, J. R., Mokrova, I., Hatfield, B. E., & Karnik, R. B. (2009). Uses and misuses of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 1(4), 198–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was supported by a R36 dissertation grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse [DA047216] and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholars Program, for which the first author is a scholar but the foundation did not provide direct project support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Adedotun Ogunbajo

  2. School of Social Work, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Temitope Oke

  3. Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, The Hague, Netherlands

    Kehinde Okanlawon

  4. Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Gamji M’Rabiu Abubakari

  5. Department of Mental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun, Nigeria

    Olakunle Oginni

Authors
  1. Adedotun Ogunbajo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Temitope Oke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kehinde Okanlawon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gamji M’Rabiu Abubakari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Olakunle Oginni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adedotun Ogunbajo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

The study protocols were approved by the institutional review boards at Brown University and the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ogunbajo, A., Oke, T., Okanlawon, K. et al. Religiosity and Conversion Therapy is Associated with Psychosocial Health Problems among Sexual Minority Men (SMM) in Nigeria. J Relig Health 61, 3098–3128 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01400-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01400-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation