An Exploration of Sexual Minority Stress Across the Lines of Gender and Sexual Identity

Despite growing evidence to suggest that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals experience a range of stressors and consequences related to their sexual minority status, no known studies to date have employed focus group discussion to explore and document their perceptions of sexual minority stress. In this exploratory study, we present focus group data on a range of sexual minority stressors as described by 43 gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women. We explore gender and sexual identity differences in the respondents' perceptions of heteronormativity, disclosure issues in different social settings, sources of support, and strategies for coping with stress. Respondents reported that women's same-sex relationships were eroticized and distorted to accommodate heterosexual male desire, while men were negatively depicted as sexually promiscuous and deviant. These differing stereotypes held important consequences for disclosure decisions and affected men's and women's social interactions with heterosexual men. Bisexual respondents reported unique strategies to cope with exclusion and isolation associated with misunderstandings about their sexual identities. Directions for future research on sexual minority stress are discussed.     

Examining Sexual Orientation Disparities in Unmet Medical Needs Among Men and Women

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 13,810), this study examines disparities in unmet medical needs by sexual orientation identity during young adulthood. We use binary logistic regression and expand Andersen’s health care utilization framework to identify factors that shape disparities in unmet medical needs by sexual orientation. We also investigate whether the well-established gender disparity in health-seeking behaviors among heterosexual persons holds for sexual minorities. The results show that sexual minority women are more likely to report unmet medical needs than heterosexual women, but no differences are found between sexual minority and heterosexual men. Moreover, we find a reversal in the gender disparity between heterosexual and sexual minority populations: heterosexual women are less likely to report unmet medical needs than heterosexual men, whereas sexual minority women are more likely to report unmet medical needs compared to sexual minority men. Finally, this work advances Andersen’s model by articulating the importance of including social psychological factors for reducing disparities in unmet medical needs by sexual orientation for women.     

Coping With Sexual Orientation–Related Minority Stress

Little is known about how adolescents cope with minority stressors related to sexual orientation. This study examined 245 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adult’s (ages 21–25) retrospective reports of coping in response to LGB minority stress during adolescence (ages 13–19) to test the reliability and validity of a measure of minority stress coping. Further, the study examined associations between LGB minority stress coping and young adult psychosocial adjustment and high school attainment. Validation and reliability was found for three minority stress coping strategies: LGB-specific strategies (e.g., involvement with LGBT organizations), alternative-seeking strategies (e.g., finding new friends), and cognitive strategies (e.g., imagining a better future). LGB-specific strategies were associated with better psychosocial adjustment and greater likelihood of high school attainment in young adulthood, whereas alternative-seeking and cognitive-based strategies were associated with poorer adjustment and less likelihood of high school attainment.     

Sexual minority youth victimization and social support: the intersection of sexuality, gender, race, and victimization

In comparison to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth are more likely to experience victimization. Multiple studies have connected anti-gay prejudice and anti-gay victimization to negative outcomes. Research shows that social support may protect sexual minorities from the harmful effects of anti-gay victimization. However, rates of victimization and the negative outcomes linked to sexual identity within the sexual minority community have been relatively unexplored. Using data from three years of statewide data from heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents in grades 9-12, this study examines victimization, substance use, suicidality, and access to social support by sexuality. Results indicate that sexual minority youth are at increased risk for victimization, substance use, suicidality, and social isolation compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Results also indicate that there is very little bivariate difference within the sexual minority community. Multivariate results indicate differences among sexual minorities' experiences with victimization and substance use.     

Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America 1861–2003 by William N. Eskridge

This article develops a model that describes relations among environmental characteristics, discrimination and visibility management, and the experience of minority stressors by lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth. The article elaborates on how visibility management (i.e., regulating the exposure of one's sexual orientation) of LGB youth can function as a coping strategy and is, therefore, closely tied to the experience of minority stressors. Qualitative support is found for the theoretical model in conducting 24 in-depth interviews with LGB youth. The analysis also shows that LGB youth use specific mannerisms, gender-nonconformist behaviors, and other indirect cues to make themselves visible or invisible as LGBs.     

Mothers’ Sexual Identity and Children’s Health

Sexual minority women face a plethora of structural, socioeconomic, and interpersonal disadvantages and stressors. Research has established negative associations between women’s sexual minority identities and both their own health and their infants’ birth outcomes. Yet a separate body of scholarship has documented similarities in the development and well-being of children living with same-sex couples relative to those living with similarly situated different-sex couples. This study sought to reconcile these literatures by examining the association between maternal sexual identity and child health at ages 5–18 using a US sample from the full population of children of sexual minority women, including those who identify as mostly heterosexual, bisexual, or lesbian, regardless of partner sex or gender. Analyses using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N?=?8978) followed women longitudinally and examined several measures of their children’s health, including general health and specific developmental and physical health conditions. Analyses found that children of mostly heterosexual and bisexual women experienced health disadvantages relative to children of heterosexual women, whereas the few children of lesbian women in our sample evidenced a mixture of advantages and disadvantages. These findings underscore that to understand sexual orientation disparities and the intergenerational transmission of health, it is important to incorporate broad measurement of sexual orientation that can capture variation in family forms and in sexual minority identities.

     

Resilience to Discrimination and Rejection Among Young Sexual Minority Males and Transgender Females: A Qualitative Study on Coping With Minority Stress

Sexual minority and transgender status is associated with mental health disparities, which have been empirically and theoretically linked to stressors related to social stigma. Despite exposure to these unique stressors, many sexual minority and transgender individuals will not experience mental health disorders in their lifetime. Little is known about the specific processes that sexual minority and transgender youth use to maintain their wellbeing in the presence of discrimination and rejection. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 sexual minority males and transgender females aged 18–22 years, who currently met criteria for an operationalized definition of resilience to depression and anxiety. Data were analyzed qualitatively, yielding information related to a wide variety of problem-solving, support-seeking, and accommodative coping strategies employed by youth in the face of social stigma. Results are discussed in light of their clinical implications.     

An Analysis of Specific Life Satisfaction Domains and Disordered Eating among College Students

Research has revealed that overall life satisfaction (LS) is negatively related to disordered eating. This study examined whether specific LS domains (e.g., family, friends, etc.) were more strongly associated with eating behaviors/weight perceptions (e.g., exercising to lose weight, using laxatives to lose weight, etc.) in 723 randomly selected college students analyzed separately by gender. Data were analyzed using logistic and multiple regression procedures. Results supported the hypotheses in the expected directions. College students’ weight perceptions had the strongest relationships with Satisfaction with Self and Satisfaction with Physical Appearance, and these relationships were stronger among females than males. Worrying about weight, self-described weight, and binge eating were significantly correlated with all LS domains (p < .05). Results suggest potential contributions of differentiating among the domains of LS in efforts to understand disordered eating among males and female college students. Implications for practice are discussed briefly.     

Attitudes of Heterosexual Men and Women Toward HIV Negative and Positive Gay Men

Attitudes of Italian heterosexual men and women toward gay men, both HIV positive and negative, are poorly investigated. Italian culture is still extremely conservative and provides limited support to the gay community (e.g., lack of same-sex marriage recognition). Consequently, gay men experience social exclusion and disparities. The present study explores the association between homophobia and closeness with sexual orientation and HIV status. 261 heterosexual Italian men and women were assessed for feelings of closeness and homophobia after reading a vignette where the character was C1: heterosexual and HIV negative; C2: gay and HIV negative; or C3: gay and HIV positive. Experiences of homophobia and closeness varied depending on gender of participant and condition assigned, and higher levels of homophobia were correlated with lower levels of closeness regardless of HIV status. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Non-Heterosexuality,Relationships, and Young Women’s Contraceptive Behavior

Non-heterosexual young women have a higher rate of unintended pregnancy than their heterosexual peers, but their fertility behaviors are understudied. We use longitudinal data from the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life study to investigate mechanisms contributing to non-heterosexual women’s higher pregnancy risk. These data include weekly reports of relationships, sex, and contraceptive use over 30 months. We compare the relationships and fertility behaviors of three groups: exclusively heterosexual (consistent heterosexual behavior, identity, and attraction); mostly heterosexual (heterosexual identity with same-sex behavior and/or same-sex attraction); and LGBTQ (any non-heterosexual identity). We find that mostly heterosexual and LGBTQ women behave differently from exclusively heterosexual women in ways likely to elevate their risk of unintended pregnancy: more distinct partners during the study period, more sexual intercourse with men, less frequent contraceptive use, less use of a dual method (condom plus hormonal method), and more gaps in contraceptive coverage. Mostly heterosexual women resemble LGBTQ women in their contraceptive behavior but have significantly more intercourse with men, which may increase their pregnancy risk relative to both LGBTQ and exclusively heterosexual women. We conclude by considering implications for LGBTQ health and the measurement of sexual minority populations.     

“We’re Disgusted With Queers,not Fearful of Them”: The Interrelationships Among Disgust,Gay Men’s Sexual Behavior,and Homonegativity

ABSTRACT

Using a combination of personal reflections, published literature, and original empirical research, we argue that the disgust triggered by gay men’s sexual practices (specifically, anal intercourse) is a critical, though overlooked, contributor to heterosexual men and women’s homonegativity (i.e., negative attitudes and behaviors directed toward men who are or are perceived to be gay). We conclude our article by articulating several directions for future inquiry that we believe will advance current understanding of prejudice and discrimination directed toward gay men.     

Sexual Orientation and Fear at Night: Gender Differences Among Sexual Minorities and Heterosexuals

Using data from the 2000–2010 General Social Survey, a nationally representative sample of 5,086 adults in the United States, the authors examine sexual orientation and gender differences in reports of being afraid to walk alone at night. Results indicate that sexual minorities are significantly more likely to report fear at night than heterosexuals, and women are significantly more likely to report such fear than men. Further, our findings suggest that these sexual orientation and gender differences are due to sexual minority men being more likely than heterosexual men to report fear at night. Thus, the results of this study reveal that three groups—heterosexual women, sexual minority women, and sexual minority men—do not differ from one another in reporting fear, yet these groups are all more likely than heterosexual men to report fear at night. These findings give weight to the importance of investigating the intersection of sexual orientation and gender in individuals’ reports of fear.     

Stressors,Coping Resources,Functioning, and Role Limitations Among Older Korean Immigrants: Gender Differences

This study explored the differential impacts of stressors and coping resources on the functioning and roles of 246 older Korean immigrant men and women. Older Korean immigrant women were significantly more likely than men to have acculturation and socioeconomic stressors, physical/social functioning problems, and role limitations. English-language barriers and lack of transportation were significantly related to lower functioning and higher role limitations of older Korean women compared to those of older men. Providing social and health care services with bilingual and transportation services to older Korean immigrant women is recommended to increase their physical/social functioning and role performance.     

Disparities in Physical Health Conditions Among Lesbian and Bisexual Women: A Systematic Review of Population-Based Studies

We conducted a systematic review to assess evidence for disparities for lesbian and bisexual women (i.e., sexual minority women [SMW]) in comparison with heterosexual women across a range of nine physical health conditions. Among the k = 11 studies meeting eligibility criteria, almost every comparison (i.e., heterosexual vs. (a) lesbian, (b) bisexual, or (c) both lesbian and bisexual women) was in a direction indicating SMW disparities. Despite limited power due to small samples of SMW, we found evidence of disparities as indicated by a statistically significant adjusted odds ratios for asthma (5 of 7 comparisons), obesity (8 of 12), arthritis (2 of 3), global ratings of physical health (4 of 7), and cardiovascular disease (1 of 1). Evidence was lacking for cancer (1 of 4), diabetes and hypertension (both 1 of 5), and high cholesterol (0 of 3). Future work should confirm findings in more diverse, larger samples and should examine potential explanatory factors.     

Parents' supportive reactions to sexual orientation disclosure associated with better health: results from a population-based survey of LGB adults in Massachusetts

This study investigated associations between coming out to parents, experiences of parental support, and self-reported health behaviors and conditions among a population-based sample of LGB individuals using data collected via the 2002 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS; N = 177). We explored the following two hypotheses: 1) Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who had never disclosed their sexual orientation to a parent would report higher levels of risk behaviors and poorer health conditions than those who had come out; and 2) among LGB respondents who had come out to their parents, the individuals whose parents had reacted unsupportively would report higher levels of risk behaviors and poorer health conditions than those who had come out to parents who were supportive. Approximately two thirds of gay and bisexual (GB) males and lesbian and bisexual (LB) females reported receiving adequate social and emotional support from the parent to whom they first disclosed their sexual orientation. Among LB females, no disclosure of sexual orientation to a parent was associated with significantly elevated levels of past-month illicit drug use (AOR 12.16, 95% CI 2.87-51.54), fair or poor self-reported health status (AOR 5.71, 95% CI 1.45-22.51), and >15 days of depression in the past month (AOR 5.95, 95% CI 1.78-19.90), controlling for potential confounders. However, nondisclosure to a parent by GB males was not associated with greater odds of any of the health indicators assessed. Among GB males, those with unsupportive parents were significantly more likely to report current binge drinking (AOR 6.94, 95% CI 1.70-28.35) and >15 days depression in the past month (AOR 6.08, 95% CI 1.15-32.15), and among LB females, those with unsupportive parents were significantly more likely to report lifetime illicit drug use (AOR 11.43, 95% CI 2.50-52.30), and >15 days depression in the past month (AOR 5.51, 95% CI 1.36-22.36). We conclude that coming out may be associated with better health for LB women, and that parents who react nonsupportively when their children disclose LGB sexual orientation may contribute to children's increased odds of depression and hazardous substance use.     

Stressful Situations at Work and in Private Life among Young Workers: An Event Sampling Approach

Most studies on occupational stress concentrateon chronic conditions, whereas research onstressful situations is rather sparse. Using anevent-sampling approach, 80 young workersreported stressful events over 7 days (409work-related and 127 private events). Contentanalysis showed the newcomers' work experiencesto be similar to what is typically found inolder samples (e.g., social stressors,quantitative overload, problems ofcooperation). At work and in private life,social stressors were dominant. Inmultilevel-analyses active coping predictedhigher success in calming down and problemsolving, particularly in controllablesituations. Palliation was positively relatedto successful calming down and negatively toevent-related well-being. With regard to therelationship between chronic conditions andsituational variables, (stable) job control wasassociated with successful calming down instressful situations, and it buffered theeffect of chronic job stressors on successfulsituational calming down, yielding a specificvariant of the demands-control model. Number ofwork-related stressful events, weighted bysignificance, was moderately associated withchronic job stressors. However, while chronicjob stressors predicted momentary well-beingover and above the weighted number of events,events did not predict momentary well-being,and its prediction of stable well-beingdisappeared once chronic stressors werecontrolled. These results show how chronicconditions represent background variables thatnot only have a stronger influence onwell-being but also influence the immediatereaction to stressful encounters.     

Beyond Happiness: Minority Stress and Life Meaning Among LGB Individuals

ABSTRACT

Scholars have recently started to examine how minority stressors are associated with wellbeing outcomes among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people. Such studies have examined mainly hedonic wellbeing, and those that have investigated eudaimonic wellbeing have tended to use composite measures. The present study draws from this literature to examine how minority stressors are associated with a key indicator of eudaimonic wellbeing: life meaning. Drawing from the minority stress model, we examined these associations using structural equation modeling among 266 LGB adults. Expectations of rejection and identity concealment, but not discrimination or internalized homophobia, had significant negative associations with life meaning. Discrimination had negative indirect associations with life meaning via expectations of rejection and concealment. Our results highlight the nuanced relations that exist between minority stressors and life meaning and highlight the need to move beyond composite measures of wellbeing. Implications for clinical practice and directions for research are discussed.     

Clinical Outcomes of Enjoying Sexualization Among Lesbian Women

The Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale (ESS) was given to 150 lesbians in addition to measures of self-objectification, negative eating attitudes, and depression. The ESS was found to have acceptable levels of internal consistency reliability with a lesbian sample. Scores on the ESS were lower in this sample than in previously reported research with heterosexual women. Enjoying sexualization was found to moderate the relationship between body shame and both depressive symptomatology and negative eating attitudes. In contrast to findings from a heterosexual sample, lesbians who enjoyed sexualization had smaller relationships between these negative clinical outcomes and body shame than lesbians who did not. For lesbians, enjoying sexualization may serve a protective function against the negative effects of self-objectification. Findings are discussed in terms of body image and perceptions of ideal beauty among lesbians.     

Mental health issues: a comparison of lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual women

This study examines mental health issues among women of different sexual orientations. An anonymous survey was administered at 33 health care sites across the United States; the sample (N = 1304) included lesbians (n = 524), bisexual (n = 143) and heterosexual women (n = 637). Not only did sexual orientation influence the probability of experiencing emotional stress, but also whether a bisexual woman or lesbian had disclosed her sexual orientation (was "out") impacted the likelihood of having or having had mental health problems. Bisexual women and lesbians experienced more emotional stress as teenagers than did heterosexual women. Bisexual women were more than twice as likely to have had an eating disorder compared to lesbians. If a bisexual woman reported being out she was twice as likely to have had an eating disorder compared to a heterosexual woman. Lesbians who were not out and bisexual women who were out were 2-2.5 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation in the past 12 months. Lesbians and bisexual women who were not out were more likely to have had a suicide attempt compared to heterosexual women. Lesbians used psychotherapy for depression more commonly than did heterosexual or bisexual women. This is one of the few studies that compares lesbians, bisexual and heterosexual women. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Perceived Stress and Sexual Orientation Among Breast Cancer Survivors

Little is known about the cancer survivorship experiences of sexual minority women (SMW). SMW breast cancer survivors are hypothesized to experience more stress compared to heterosexual breast cancer survivors. A convenience sample of 211 breast cancer survivors (68 SMW, 143 heterosexual women) participated in this cross-sectional online investigation of perceived stress. Regression analyses indicated significant differences in reported stress between heterosexual and SMW breast cancer survivors (β= -.15, p = .03). Our findings may reflect unique experiences had by sexual minority breast cancer survivors. Future research should explore the factors that contribute to elevated perceived stress in this group.