Discrimination and mental health among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults in the United States.

Abstract

Health disparities among sexual minority groups, particularly mental health disparities, are well-documented. Numerous studies have demonstrated heightened prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders among lesbian, gay, and bisexual groups as compared to heterosexuals. Some authors posit that these disparities are the result of the stress that prejudice and perceived discrimination can cause. The current study extends previous research by examining the associations between multiple types of discrimination, based on race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, and past year mental health disorders in a national sample of self-identified lesbian, gay and bisexual women and men (n=577). Findings suggest that different types of discrimination may be differentially associated with past year mental health disorders. Notably, sexual orientation discrimination was associated with higher odds of a past year disorder only in combination with other types of discrimination. These findings point to the complexity of the relationship between discrimination experiences and mental health, and suggest that further work is needed to better explicate the interplay between multiple marginalized identities, discrimination and mental health.

Discrimination, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorders Among Sexual Minority Populations

“…1,8,29 Research on the role of gender in coping with stress has been reviewed previously. [30][31][32] Empirical evidence suggests that women tend to have stronger psychological and physiological responses to stress compared with men.…”

“…The item was highly skewed and thus dichotomized at the median such that responses were classified into ''ever experienced discrimination'' (n = 269, 50%, weighted) and ''never experienced discrimination'' (n = 308, 50%, weighted). 8 Lifetime mental health disorders. The Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM IV version (AUDADIS-IV)-was used to determine the presence of any lifetime DSM-IV psychiatric disorders.…”

“…17,18 Accordingly, the patterns of the associations between discrimination, mental health, and substance use disorders may differ by gender, such that sexual minority women who experience discrimination are more vulnerable to mental health disorders and sexual minority men who experience discrimination are more vulnerable to substance use disorders. To date, studies have examined the impact of discrimination on mental health and substance use separately 1,8 ; however, we are unaware of studies that examine both of these outcomes together according to gender.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] In accordance with the minority stress model, 6,7 distal stressors such as the experience of discrimination-that is, unequal or unfair treatment by others due to identity or category membership-have negative psychological consequences for sexual minority individuals and specifically can contribute to internalizing disorders such as mental health problems and externalizing disorders such as substance use. 8,9 Indeed, empirical evidence has found that discrimination based on sexual orientation or sexual identity is associated with psychiatric disorders 9 and substance use disorders 10 among sexual minority people. The minority stress model provides a useful framework for explaining health inequities among sexual minority adults.…”

Discrimination des minorités sexuelles et de genre au travail : quelles implications pour la santé mentale ?

“…En fait, certaines études constatent les effets, tantôt distincts, tantôt croisés, des expériences de discrimination en raison du genre, de l'orientation sexuelle et de l'ethnicité (Bauermeister, 2014 ;Bostwick, Boyd, Hughes, West et McCabe, 2014 ;Chae et al, 2010). Ces résultats invitent à adopter, tant en recherche que dans l'intervention, des approches intersectionnelles qui prennent en compte les multiples facettes des individus susceptibles d'intervenir dans les expériences de discrimination et leurs répercussions sur la santé mentale (Barron et Hebl, 2012 ;Carroll, 2010 ;Healy, Kirton et Noon, 2011).…”