3 - (SYM 51) Responding to Community Priorities: Acceptability and Community Fit of an Adapted Relationship Skills Program for Latino Sexual Minority Men in South Florida

Abstract Body

Introduction: Latino sexual minority men (LSMM) experience health disparities relative to heterosexual men, and sometimes, relative to White sexual minority men. Enhancing LSMM’s romantic relationships could help address these disparities given they often unfold in relationships (e.g., IPV) and there is an established link between relationships and health. Accordingly, and aligned with community priorities, we adapted an evidence-based relationship education program (Within My Reach) for LSMM.

Methods: LSMM (N=16) in South Florida participated in a one-arm pilot test of the adapted intervention. The intervention took place across five two-hour sessions, co-facilitated by two LSMM. Participants completed a baseline and 4-month follow up assessment (N=13 to date). LSMM rated the degree to which they found the adapted intervention to be acceptable (i.e., satisfactory) and appropriate (i.e., aligned with LSMM’s experiences and needs) using established measures (scale range: 1-5). LSMM completed validated measures of acceptance of intimate partner violence, sexual agreement self-efficacy, and community connectedness. Quantitative data was explored with descriptive statistics and paired samples t-tests. Participants completed exit interviews which were analyzed via rapid qualitative analysis.

Results: Participants rated the adapted intervention as highly acceptable (M = 4.02, SD = 0.82) and appropriate for LSMM (M = 4.03, SD = 1.04). Although not statistically significant, LSMM reported changes in acceptance of couple violence (p=.273 Cohen’s d = .30), sexual agreement self-efficacy (p = .317 Cohen’s d = .27), and community connectedness (p=.08, Cohen’s d = .55) that were in the expected directions and with small to medium effect sizes. Exit interviews revealed participants felt the adapted intervention was helpful (e.g., focusing on personal economic security in relationships, addressing relationship safety) and also that there were opportunities to further enhance the cultural relevance of the intervention (e.g., rebranding materials with LSMM models, further challenging heteronormative societal assumptions).

Discussion: Improving LSMM’s romantic relationship skills through a culturally adapted evidence-based intervention is a potentially promising approach for addressing persistent health disparities and is strongly aligned with community priorities. Future trials of the adapted intervention can explore new or augmented adaptations for cultural relevance and more rigorously test impacts on outcomes.