Applying Intergroup Relations Research to Understanding LGB Health Disparities

Abstract

This article describes how intergroup processes and stigma contribute to pervasive health disparities that exist between LGB and heterosexual individuals. In particular, we focus on how the hierarchical organization of groups and the intergroup dynamics that arise from this structure operate at structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels to impact psychological and physiological processes that negatively influence health among LGB individuals. We focus on how these various manifestations of stigma act as additional stressors with which LGB individuals must contend and how this stress impacts health via stress-related physiological reactivity, coping strategies, and health care interactions. Throughout we highlight how specific aspects of LGB identities (i.e., concealability and "nontribal" nature) present concerns that diverge from those documented in research on race and gender-based stigmas. We end by discussing areas for future research and implications for social policy and interventions.Relative to heterosexuals, LGB people rate their overall health to be poorer and report a greater number of acute and chronic health symptoms (for a review, see Lick, Durso, & Johnson, 2013). Understanding the source of these disparities and reducing their prevalence represent pressing social issues that social psychological theories of intergroup relations are well positioned to address. This article describes how intergroup processes and stigma contribute to the pervasive health disparities that exist between LGB and heterosexual individuals

Sexual and Gender Minority Health Disparities as a Social Issue: How Stigma and Intergroup Relations Can Explain and Reduce Health Disparities

“…Frost () discusses the challenges and benefits of research employing a sexual and gender minority health disparities framework, in addition to the methodological challenges of reaching hidden populations and defining the minority groups. Next, Ryan, Hunger, and Major () provide a theoretical application of intergroup relations to sexual and gender minority experience. Specifically, they focus on how the hierarchical organization of groups and intergroup dynamics operate at structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels to impact psychological and physiological processes that negatively influence health among LGB individuals, providing directions for social issues researchers.…”

Treat Sexual Stigma to Heal Health Disparities: Improving Sexual Minorities’ Health Outcomes

“…Identifying mechanisms of stigma-induced health problems is a popular goal of intervention—one that requires an understanding of how stigma translates into health or “gets under the skin.” Stressors influence sexual minorities’ health through various mechanisms (Ryan et al, 2017): physiological reactivity to stress (e.g., cortisol; Lick et al, 2013), maladaptive coping (e.g., substance use; McCabe et al, 2010), and impaired health care interactions (e.g., experiences of bias; IOM, 2011; Sabin et al, 2015). Similar pathways from stigma to health include sexual minorities’ internal processes (Hatzenbuehler, 2009), such as hopelessness, low self-worth, and emotion dysregulation.…”

Free to fly the rainbow flag: the relation between collective autonomy and psychological well-being amongst LGBTQ+ individuals

“…Building on the work of others (Brown, 2007;Mulé, 2006;Ryan, Hunger, & Major, 2017), we propose that experiencing collective autonomy restriction is associated with significant well-being challenges often faced by LGBTQ+ individuals (e.g., increased anxiety and depression, and reduced life-satisfaction; see Burton, Marshal, Chisolm, Sucato, & Friedman, 2013;Guidotto, 2005;King et al, 2008;Semlyen, King, Varney, & Hagger-Johnson, 2016). While previous research has documented the consequences of collective autonomy for psychological well-being in the context of race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion (e.g., Kachanoff et al, 2019), the present research is the first to consider the consequences of collective autonomy for well-being with respect to one's gender and/or sexual identity, and, with respect to a marginalized minority group identity.…”

“…Past work has shown that a person may feel their group experiences discrimination even though they believe they have not personally experienced discrimination (Taylor et al, 1990). Relatedly, Ryan, Hunger and Major (2017) have distinguished between systemic structural stressors that influence the LGBTQ+ community collectively and interpersonal stressors that are personally experienced by individual community members.…”