Minority Stress Theory: Application, Critique, and Continued Relevance

The minority stress model has been influential in guiding research on sexual and gender minority health and well-being in psychology and related social and health sciences. Minority stress has theoretical roots in psychology, sociology, public health, and social welfare. Meyer provided the first integrative articulation of minority stress in 2003 as an explanatory theory aimed at understanding the social, psychological, and structural factors accounting for mental health inequalities facing sexual minority populations. This article reviews developments in minority stress theory over the past two decades, focusing on critiques, applications, and reflections on its continued relevance in the context of rapidly changing social and policy contexts

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health services in the United States: Origins, evolution, and contemporary landscape

Background LGBT community organizations in the United States have been providing health services since at least the 1970s. However, available explanations for the origins of LGBT health services do not sufficiently explain why health in particular has been so closely and consistently linked to LGBT activism. Little is also known regarding how LGBT health services may have evolved over time with the growing scientific understanding of LGBT health needs. Methods This study begins with a review of the early intersections of sexuality and health that led to an LGBT health movement in the United States, as well as the evolution of LGBT health services over time. Informed by this, an asset map displaying the location and types of services provided by “LGBT community health centers” today in relation to the population density of LGBT people was explored. An online search of LGBT community health centers was conducted between September–December, 2015. Organizational details, including physical addresses and the services provided, were confirmed via an online database of federally-registered non-profit organizations and organizational websites. The locations and types of services provided were analyzed and presented alongside county-level census data of same-sex households using geographic information system (GIS) software ArcGIS for Desktop. Findings LGBT community health centers are concentrated within urban hubs and coastal states, and are more likely to be present in areas with a high density of same-sex couples. LGBT community health centers do not operate in 13 states. The most common health services provided are wellness programs, HIV/STI services, and counseling services. Conclusions LGBT community health centers have adapted over time to meet the needs of LGBT people. However, significant gaps in service remain in the United States, and LGBT community health centers may require significant transformations going forward in order to continue serving LGBT people

Social change and relationship quality among sexual minority individuals: Does minority stress still matter?

Objective: This study examined whether positive changes in social attitudes and policies surrounding sexual minority relationships have translated to diminished deleterious effects of minority stress on relationship quality. Background: Sexual minority emerging adults now come of age at a time of greater equality and acceptance than previous generations. Research has demonstrated consistent negative effects of stigma—theorized as minority stress—on relationship quality for sexual minority individuals. However, given the improving social climate, questions remain regarding whether minority stress has the same deleterious effects on the romantic relationships of sexual minority emerging adults. Method: Five-hundred forty-nine individuals in relationships drawn from a US national probability sample completed a survey containing validated measures of minority stressors and relationship satisfaction. Responses from emerging adults (aged 18–25) were compared to two cohorts who came of age during the HIV/AIDS crisis (aged 34–41) and post Stonewall (aged 52–59). Results: Emerging adults were more satisfied with their relationships than older cohorts. Experiences of everyday discrimination were associated with decreased relationship satisfaction for all cohorts; however, felt stigma, stigma concealment, and internalized stigma were associated with lower relationship satisfaction for older but not younger cohorts. Conclusion: Findings illustrate the continued but shifting role of minority stress and provide the first evidence that social and policy changes may have translated into more positive relationship experiences for sexual minority emerging adults

The Qualitative Interview in Psychology and the Study of Social Change: Sexual Identity Development, Minority Stress, and Health in the Generations Study.

Interviewing is considered a key form of qualitative inquiry in psychology that yields rich data on lived experience and meaning making of life events. Interviews that contain multiple components informed by specific epistemologies have the potential to provide particularly nuanced perspectives on psychological experience. We offer a methodological model for a multi-component interview that draws upon both pragmatic and constructivist epistemologies to examine generational differences in the experience of identity development, stress, and health among contemporary sexual minorities in the United States. Grounded in theories of life course, narrative, and intersectionality, we designed and implemented a multi-component protocol that was administered among a diverse sample of three generations of sexual minority individuals. For each component, we describe the purpose and utility, underlying epistemology, foundational psychological approach, and procedure, and we provide illustrative data from interviewees. We discuss procedures undertaken to ensure methodological integrity in process of data collection, illustrating the implementation of recent guidelines for qualitative inquiry in psychology. We highlight the utility of this qualitative multi-component interview to examine the way in which sexual minorities of distinct generations have made meaning of significant social change over the past half-century

Sampling lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations

Sampling has been the single most influential component of conducting research with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) populations. Poor sampling designs can result in biased results that will mislead other researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Investigators wishing to study LGB populations must therefore devote significant energy and resources to choosing a sampling approach and executing the sampling plan. The authors describe probability and nonprobability sampling methods used in LGB populations and critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the sampling methods they review. The authors conclude that no single sampling methodology is correct or incorrect for use in LGB populations; rather, researchers must evaluate advantages and disadvantages of each sampling methodology in the context of the specific research question and the research design

Sexual Identity and Birth Cohort Differences in Social Support and Its Link with Well-Being among Sexual Minority Individuals

This study examined sexual identity and birth cohort differences in social support and its association with well-being, using a longitudinal national probability sample of 706 cisgender and non-binary sexual minority individuals from the USA. The data allowed for extensive descriptions of perceived social support and support networks across subgroups. Findings demonstrated that sexual identity and birth cohort differences in overall sizes of support networks and levels of perceived social support were small. Furthermore, fixed effects analyses indicated that changes in the size of respondents’ social support networks were not related to well-being, with a one-person change being associated with a.04 SD change in well-being or less, depending on the indicator of well-being being tested. Moreover, changes in perceived social support were only limitedly related to changes in respondents’ well-being, a 1-point change in the scale of perceived social support being associated with a.11 SD change in life-satisfaction. Associations were smaller for overall well-being or psychological distress, the other two indicators of well-being used. Together, these findings could imply that cross-sectional research has overestimated the relevance of social support for the well-being of sexual minority individuals, but also that general social support is insufficiently tailored to the support needs of the sexual minority population

Minority Stress and Physical Health Among Sexual Minorities

New research shows that lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGB) are at increased risk for physical health problems due to prejudice-related stress. Findings from a new report were presented at the American Psychological Association’s annual conference in Washington, DC on August 5, 2011. The researchers found that LGB people who had experienced prejudice-related major life events were about three times more likely to have suffered a serious physical health problem over a one-year follow-up period than those who had not experienced such events. The effects of prejudice-related events remained statistically significant even after controlling for the experience of other stressful events, as well as other factors known to affect physical health, such as age, gender, employment, and lifetime health history

Correlates of Christian Religious Identification and Deidentification Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: A U.S. Probability Sample

Using a U.S. nationally representative sample of 1,529 sexual and gender minorities (SGMs), we examined the demographic and developmental correlates of Christian religious deidentification. We found that SGMs who were older, Black, cisgender men, and/or lived in the American South were more likely to identify as Christian in adulthood, relative to other SGMs. Those who were never Christian reported being more out to family and friends at earlier ages than those who were raised Christian. SGMs who were raised Christian, but did not identify as Christian in adulthood reported, more adverse childhood experiences and bullying than other SGMs. Sexual minorities who identified as Christian in adulthood reported more internalized homophobia in adulthood than other sexual minorities. Finally, sexual minorities who were raised Christian, regardless of their adulthood religious identification, reported experiencing more stigma than sexual minorities who were not raised Christian. No differences were noted in measures of adulthood resilience or health. Taken together, results indicate that identifying as Christian—in childhood and/or adulthood—is associated with greater experiences of stigma and stress than not identifying as Christian in adulthood

Sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts and suicide morbidity among sexual and gender minority adults in Colombia

Purpose: We assessed the association between sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (SOGICE) experiences and lifetime suicide morbidity among sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups in Colombia. Methods: A sample of 4160 SGM Colombian adults responded to an online cross-sectional survey. We used binary logistic regression to assess the relationship between SOGICE and suicide morbidity for the overall sample and stratified by SGM group. Results: We found a high prevalence of suicidal ideation (56%), suicide planning (54%), suicide attempt (25%), and SOGICE experiences (22%). There were significant differences in the prevalence of suicide morbidity and SOGICE experiences across SGM groups, with transgender men and gender nonbinary participants being generally most at risk. SOGICE experiences were associated with 69% increased odds of suicidal ideation, 55% increased odds of suicide planning, and 76% increased odds of suicide attempt. Stratified analyses by SGM group showed that the association of SOGICE experiences with suicide morbidity varied by SGM group, and it was particularly detrimental for cisgender sexual minority men. Conclusions: Suicide morbidity among SGM adults in Colombia is high, with rates that are 8–22 times higher than in the general population. SOGICE experiences further exacerbate suicide risk. The study findings highlight the need to design and implement policies affirming diverse sexual orientation and gender identities in Colombia and to ban SOGICE practices. These findings also highlight the importance of recognizing the variability within SGM groups and the need to examine these groups separately rather than treating them as a monolithic grou