Determination of the optimal cutoff point for the chemsex inventory (CSI) to assess chemsex-related mental health risk in men who have sex with men

Background: Chemsex poses growing psychological and behavioural risks among men who have sex with men (MSM). Although the Chemsex Inventory (CSI) was developed to assess these risks, clinical cutoff points distinguishing recreational use from pathological patterns remain undefined. This study aimed...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Del Pozo-Herce, Pablo, Martínez-Sabater, Antonio, Elena Chover-Sierra, Elena, Czapla, Michal, Sanchez Hernando, Beatriz, Navas-Echazarreta, Noelia, Juárez-Vela, Raúl
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Zaragoza
Repositorio:Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:zaguan______::b78654b7fe5fcde41ffe9624a91942c5
Acceso en línea:http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/170168
Access Level:acceso abierto
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Chemsex poses growing psychological and behavioural risks among men who have sex with men (MSM). Although the Chemsex Inventory (CSI) was developed to assess these risks, clinical cutoff points distinguishing recreational use from pathological patterns remain undefined. This study aimed to determine optimal CSI cutoff points to identify profiles of increased psychological and behavioral vulnerability associated with chemsex. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Spain between January and April 2023 with 563 MSM who reported chemsex use within the previous 12 months. Psychometric analyses included principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of a second-order model with four dimensions: emotional instability, risk of psychosis, altered body perception, and suicide risk. Cutoff points were determined using the percentile-based P-score method. Results: The CSI showed excellent internal reliability (Cronbach’s α=0.88; ω=0.88) and strong factorial validity (CFI=0.985, TLI=0.984, RMSEA=0.05). The second-order model fit significantly better than the first-order alternative (χ²diff=8.14; p=0.017). High-risk cutoffs were: emotional instability≥78.3, psychosis≥51.4, body-perception disturbance≥95.0, suicide risk≥75.0, and global≥66.4. About 5% of participants exceeded these thresholds, indicating elevated psychological vulnerability. Conclusions: CSI cutoff points provide a reliable and sensitive tool for early detection of mental-health risks related to chemsex. Policy Implications: Incorporating the CSI into sexual-health, primary-care, and mental-health services may enhance early detection of at-risk individuals and support evidence-based prevention and harm-reduction strategies.