Prof Rusi Jaspal, Nottingham Trent University
Identity processes and risk behaviour among gay & bisexual men
HIV/AIDS remains a major public health concern. Although HIV prevalence is low in the UK, it is high in gay and bisexual men and most new HIV diagnoses are in this group. HIV prevention efforts have understandably focused on reducing incidence among gay and bisexual men. Since 2016, HIV incidence has been falling and the UK’s ambition to end all new HIV transmission by 2030 seems plausible. Although effective HIV treatment is now available, which has transformed HIV/AIDS from a fatal to a manageable chronic condition, an HIV diagnosis can have a significant psychosocial impact, affecting identity, thinking, and patterns of behaviour. Talking identity processes as a starting-point, this talk focuses on our recent research into the social psychological underpinnings of sexual risk behaviour in gay and bisexual men, including decreased psychological wellbeing and maladaptive coping; aspects of existing and novel methods of HIV prevention, such as condom use, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); and identity, wellbeing and coping in gay and bisexual men living with HIV. The Health Adversity Risk Model is proposed as a lens for understanding and predicting risk behaviour in this population. It is argued that enhancing identity processes in gay and bisexual men should be a central tenet of effective HIV prevention and effective HIV care. Our prevention strategy must be underpinned by robust theory and research from social psychology.
Short biography
Rusi Jaspal is Professor of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, and a Chartered Psychologist and Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Rusi Jaspal’s research examines the social psychological aspects of identity, wellbeing and risk behaviour, focusing mainly on gay and bisexual men. He has written over 100 journal articles and book chapters in this area. Rusi Jaspal’s recent books include The Social Psychology of Gay Men (Palgrave, 2019) and HIV and Gay Men: Clinical, Social and Psychological Aspects (Palgrave, 2020), and he is co-editor with Dame Glynis Breakwell of Identity Process Theory: Identity, Social Action and Social Change (Cambridge University Press, 2014).
For access to this seminar, please register here, a link will be sent to you within a few days of the talk. For later registrations, the link will be sent an hour before the start time.