ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Addictive Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1613882
This article is part of the Research TopicAssessment and Management of Addictive Disorders in Sexual and Racial MinoritiesView all 4 articles
Poor sleep quality indirectly contributes to higher sexual risk-taking by increasing the likelihood of engaging in substance use among LGBTQ+ individuals
Provisionally accepted
- School of Medicine, Acıbadem University, Istanbul, Türkiye
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Background: Poor sleep quality (PSQ) is disproportionately prevalent among LGBTQ+ individuals and has been linked to substance use, sexual dysfunction and sexual risk-taking (SRT). However, the interplay between sleep health, substance use, SRT, and sexual dysfunction remains underexplored in diverse LGBTQ+ populations. This study investigates whether substance use mediates the relationship between PSQ and SRT among LGBTQ+ individuals in Turkey.Methods: A cross-sectional survey, using snowball sampling was conducted among 249 LGBTQ+ individuals in Turkey. Measures included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Index of Sexual Risk-Taking (ISRT), Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX), AUDIT-C for alcohol use, and self-reported recent substance use. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to assess associations between PSQ, substance use, and SRT. Mediation analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM).Results: PSQ was highly prevalent (80.7%) and significantly associated with alcohol use and chemsexrelated substance use (CRSU). CRSU was strongly linked to increased SRT (β = 1.489, p < .001) and served as a significant mediator in the PSQ-SRT relationship (β = 1.045, p = .047). No significant mediation effect was found for alcohol use.Poor sleep quality indirectly contributes to higher sexual risk-taking among LGBTQ+ individuals by increasing the likelihood of engaging in chemsex-related substance use. These findings highlight the need for integrated public health interventions addressing sleep health, substance use, and sexual risk-taking in LGBTQ+ communities, particularly in settings with rising substance use rates.
Keywords: Sleep, LGBTQ+, substance, risk-taking, Sexuality, Health, Chemsex
Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sari, Durdu, Ay and Sancak. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Barış Sancak, School of Medicine, Acıbadem University, Istanbul, 34662, Türkiye
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