Depression and Victimization in a Community Sample of Bisexual and Lesbian Women: An Intersectional Approach

Abstract

Mental health inequities among bisexual and lesbian women are well-documented. Compared to heterosexual women, both bisexual and lesbian women are more likely to report lifetime depressive disorders, with bisexual women often faring the worst on mental health outcomes. Risk factors for depression, such as victimization in childhood and adulthood, are also more prevalent among bisexual women. Less is known about the intersection of racial/ethnic and sexual minority identities, and how depression and victimization may differ across these multiple, co-occurring identities. Data were from Wave 3 of the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women study, an 18-year, community-based longitudinal study of sexual minority women's health. We constructed a six-category "intersection" variable based on sexual identity and race/ethnicity to examine group differences in lifetime depression and victimization. We tested childhood and adult victimization as moderators of lifetime depression (n = 600). A majority (58.2%) of the total sample met criteria for lifetime depression. When considering the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexual identity, Black bisexual and Black lesbian women had significantly lower odds of depression than White lesbian women, despite their higher reports of victimization. Latina bisexual and lesbian women did not differ from White lesbians on depression. Victimization did not moderate the association between the intersection variable and depression. More research is needed to better understand risk and protective factors for depression among racially/ethnically diverse sexual minority women (SWM). We highlight the need to deliberately oversample SWM of color to accomplish this goal.

Are Black Sexual Minority Adults More Likely to Report Higher Levels of Psychological Distress than White Sexual Minority Adults? Findings from the 2013–2017 National Health Interview Survey

“…The results showed that sexual minority status was associated with increased risk for psychological distress for both Black adults and White adults. However, the results did not indicate that Black sexual minority adults had significantly higher levels of psychological distress than White sexual minority adults, which is a similar finding in recent studies (Bostwick et al 2018;Velez et al 2017).…”

“…In contrast, the intersectionality framework was not supported with the finding of a racial non-difference in psychological distress among sexual minority adults. The intersectionality framework has been supported by recent studies on REM sexual minorities that have identified unique stressors that affect Black sexual minority adults such as discrimination experiences and social rejection (Bhambhani et al 2018;Bostwick et al 2018;Calabrese et al 2015). The identified stressors in studies on REM sexual minorities can inform mental health practitioners of evidence-based risk factors that affect Black sexual minority adults.…”

“…On the other hand, using the intersectionality framework, many studies show that REM sexual minorities are more likely to experience stressors associated with their racial minority status compared to White sexual minorities. Those racial minority status stressors include discrimination experiences (Calabrese et al 2015), sexual racism (Bhambhani et al 2018), and victimization (Bostwick et al 2018). Yet, in many of those studies, there was no difference in psychological distress between REM sexual minorities and White sexual minorities.…”

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Cardiometabolic Risk in a Community Sample of Sexual Minority Women

“…29 The higher rates of lifetime depression and trauma reported by SMW of color are consistent with a recent analysis of CHLEW data. 46 No racial/ethnic differences in health behaviors were identified. With a few exceptions, 55 there is a paucity of research examining racial/ ethnic differences in psychosocial and behavioral risk factors for CVD in SMW.…”

“…43 Therefore, we assessed lifetime trauma by combining reports of childhood and adulthood trauma based on established methods. [44][45][46] Childhood trauma included physical abuse, sexual abuse, and parental neglect before the age of 18. Childhood physical abuse was assessed with the following item: ''Do you feel that you were physically abused by your parents or other family members when you were growing up?''…”