Introduction: Although personality and sociocultural experiences shape how people adapt to changing life circumstances, these factors’ contributions to psychological adjustment outcomes may differ across ethnic groups. Previous research has shown that personality traits predict psychological distress and wellbeing, and people's comfort with their social environments and interpersonal relationships also can be instrumental in understanding their psychological adjustment. Research on personality and on environmental characteristics have tended to focus on Euro Americans and on people of color, respectively; the extent to which campus climate and ethnic group contact predict psychological adjustment above and beyond personality remains understudied and unclear. Method: Relative influences of Big 5 personality and environmental characteristics at a predominantly White college were tested as predictors of psychological adjustment among Asian (N = 412; 48.5% women, Mage = 19.60) and Euro American (N = 277; 47.7% women, Mage = 19.46) students. Results: Measurement invariance tests showed that only a subset of the NEO Five Factor Inventory was equivalent across groups. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that personality contributed to depression and anxiety symptoms for both groups, but comfort with campus environment and ethnic social comfort were distinctively important predictors of Asians’ psychological adjustment. Discussion: Implications for research, professional services, and university practices are discussed.
LGBTQ+ individuals are at increased risk of experiencing mental health concerns including depression and substance use. Understanding these mental health disparities has been an increasing focus for researchers, but there is still limited research on the relationship between religion and depression and substance use among LGBTQ+ individuals. In the current study, it was theorized that higher perceived parental religiosity influences current experiences of depression and alcohol and substance use/abuse through the mediator of the perceived familial stigma of sexuality (stigmatizing behaviors experienced in the home). Individuals (N = 427) who identified as gay/lesbian, queer, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and/or demisexual were recruited for the study. Results showed that perceived parental religiosity was positively linked to both current reports of depression, alcohol use, and cannabis use. In line with predictions, perceived familial stigma of sexuality was found to fully mediate the relationships between perceived parental religiosity and depression and cannabis use and to partially mediate the relationship between perceived parental religiosity and alcohol use. Furthermore, there was a moderating effect of gender, showing that gay men experienced the strongest links between perceived parental religiosity and perceived familial stigma and between perceived familial stigma and depression, alcohol use, and cannabis use. The findings of this study implicate perceived familial stigma of sexuality as an important factor that could explain how perceived parental religiosity increases LGBTQ+ individuals' experiences of mental health concerns.
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