Higher rates of homophobia among African Americans may explain why the AIDS epidemic has disproportionately struck black men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and reported by aidsmap. The study found that in the past 20 years, when compared to white adults, a higher number of African Americans believe that homosexuality is “always wrong” and that twice as many black MSM than white MSM share the sentiment. Similar studies have also suggested that MSMs with negative attitudes about homosexuality are less likely to get tested, so understanding racial differences in attitude may help prevention efforts. While African Americans make up only 13 percent of the U.S. population, 25 percent of MSMs diagnosed with HIV in 2007 were African American.

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