Associations Between Methamphetamine Use, Housing Status, and Incarceration Rates Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Women

• Author: Kaston D. Anderson-Carpenter,Cathy J. Reback,Jesse B. Fletcher
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042617696917
• Published date: 01 July 2017
• Date: 01 July 2017
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042617696917

Journal of Drug Issues

2017, Vol. 47(3) 383 –395

© The Author(s) 2017

Reprints and permissions:

sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/0022042617696917

journals.sagepub.com/home/jod

Article

Associations Between

Methamphetamine Use, Housing

Status, and Incarceration Rates

Among Men Who Have Sex With

Men and Transgender Women

Kaston D. Anderson-Carpenter1,2, Jesse B. Fletcher3,

and Cathy J. Reback1,3

Abstract

The present study examined associations between methamphetamine use and social factors

among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women. Over a 4-year period,

7,419 HIV outreach encounters were conducted with MSM (n = 6,243) and transgender

women (n = 1,176). Logistic and negative binomial regressions estimated associations

between sociodemographics, incarceration history, housing status, and methamphetamine use.

Incarceration history was associated with marginal housing or homelessness (adjusted odds

ratio [AOR] = 3.4) and with increased likelihood (AOR = 6.00) and adjusted incidence rate

ratio (AIRR = 3.57) of methamphetamine use. African American/Black MSM and transgender

women were more likely to report a recent incarceration history compared with non-African

American/Black participants (AOR = 2.18). Incarceration history was associated with a HIV-

positive status (AOR = 1.69), and transgender women were 5.2 times more likely to report

recent incarceration relative to MSM. Understanding these associations may provide a basis for

developing interventions that account for the social factors influencing health outcomes among

these two high-risk populations.

Keywords

methamphetamine, men who have sex with men, transgender, HIV, incarceration, housing

Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (hereafter trans women) experience

multiple social challenges that place them at a disproportionate risk of incarceration (i.e., jail or

prison) compared with other populations. Recent estimates from the U.S. Justice Department

indicate that about one out of every 110 adults in the United States is currently incarcerated

(Glaze & Kaeble, 2014). Although incarceration rates for MSM and trans women are not readily

available, it has been suggested that these two populations experience a greater risk of

1University of California, Los Angeles, USA

2Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA

3Friends Research Institute, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Kaston D. Anderson-Carpenter, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 316 Physics Rd., Room 125C,

East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

Email: kaston@msu.edu

696917JODXXX10.1177/0022042617696917Journal of Drug IssuesAnderson-Carpenter et al.

research-article2017