Age, Sex, Race, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation: Intersectionality of Marginalized-Group Identities and Enacted HIV-Related Stigma Among People Living with HIV in Florida

HIV-related stigma is associated with many negative health outcomes among people living with HIV (PLHIV). The theory of intersectionality suggests that the interactions of social identities affect PLHIV’s experiences of stigma. This study aims to identify individual and interactive marginalized-group identities correlated with enacted HIV-related stigma among PLHIV in Florida. The sample (n = 932) was majority male (66.6%), Black (58.5%), and non-Latino (80.2%) with 53% reporting experiences of HIV-related stigma. In multinomial regression models, the interaction between race and ethnicity was significant where non-White Latinos had higher odds of experiencing high levels of enacted stigma [AOR (CI) 7.71 (2.41, 24.73), p < 0.001] compared to white non-Latinos. Additionally, racial minorities were less likely to have experienced moderate or high levels of enacted stigma [AOR (CI) 0.47 (0.31, 0.72), p < 0.001; AOR (CI) 0.39 (0.22, 0.70), p = 0.002, respectively]. Moreover, women had higher odds of experiencing high levels of enacted stigma [AOR (CI) 2.04 (1.13, 3.67), p = 0.018]. The results suggest that intersectionality is important to consider in HIV-related stigma research and future interventions.