Multiple minority stress and LGBT community resilience among sexual minority men.

Abstract

Minority stress theory has widespread research support in explaining health disparities experienced by sexual and gender minorities. However, less is known about how minority stress impacts multiply marginalized groups, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people of color (LGBT POC). Also, although research has documented resilience in the face of minority stress at the individual level, research is needed that examines macro-level processes such as community resilience (Meyer, 2015). In the current study, we integrate minority stress theory and intersectionality theory to examine multiple minority stress (i.e., racial/ethnic stigma in LGBT spaces and LGBT stigma in one's neighborhood) and community resilience (i.e., connection to LGBT community) among sexual minority men of different racial/ethnic groups who use a geosocial networking application for meeting sexual partners. Results showed that Black sexual minority men reported the highest levels of racial/ethnic stigma in LGBT spaces and White sexual minority men reported the lowest levels, with Asian and Hispanic/Latino men falling in between. Consistent with minority stress theory, racial/ethnic stigma in LGBT spaces and LGBT stigma in one's neighborhood were associated with greater stress for sexual minority men of all racial/ethnic groups. However, connection to LGBT community played more central role in mediating the relationship between stigma and stress for White than POC sexual minority men. Results suggest that minority stress and community resilience processes may differ for White and POC sexual minority men. Potential processes driving these differences and implications for minority stress theory are discussed.

Race-Related Social Contextual Factors, Substance Use, and HIV Among Young Men Who Have Sex with Men in Chicago

“…For some Black and Latino participants, this was associated with experiences of stigma and discrimination on the basis of race/ethnicity, which in turn led them to feel less welcome and more uncomfortable in the neighborhood. This finding fits with previous research, which has documented how racism in LGBT communities and heterosexism in racial/ethnic communities can lead to experiences of multiple minority stress for LGBT people of color (Balsam, Molina, Beadnell, Simoni, & Walters, 2011;Bowleg, Huang, Brooks, Black, & Burkholder, 2003;Ghabrial, 2017;McConnell et al, 2018;Rostosky, Riggle, Gary, & Hatton, 2007). Overall, these findings are consistent with research documenting people who are both racial and sexual minorities reported identity compartmentalization and stress related to negotiating their marginalized identities in different spaces (Diaz, Ayala, Bein, Henne, & Marin, 2001;Ghabrial, 2017).…”

“…Social power and privilege shaped these dynamics, such that participants often reported not having to think about or be aware of their dominant identities (e.g., White, traditionally masculine, straight passing) but experiencing pervasive influences related to their marginalized identities (e.g., Black or Latino, gay or bisexual, gender nonconforming, violating body image norms). Consistent with intersectionality theory, participants also identified ways in which their experiences of these identities shaped each other and varied depending on the context and the relative salience of different identities (Bowleg, 2008;McConnell, Janulis, Phillips, Truong, & Birkett, 2018;McConnell, Todd, Odahl-Ruan, & Shattell, 2016;Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008;Williams & Fredrick, 2015).…”

“…Given this greater exposure, minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003) suggests sexual and gender minority people of color would experience greater negative mental health outcomes. However, research has found little evidence of these racial/ethnic disparities, suggesting that sexual and gender minority people of color show resilience despite greater exposure to stigma and minority stress (Balsam et al, 2015;Ghabrial, 2017;Kertzner, Meyer, Frost, & Stirratt, 2009;McConnell et al, 2018;. This suggests that the development of stressinoculation and coping processes may enable sexual and gender minority people of color to more effectively cope with experiences of stigma and minority stress, thus preventing adverse health outcomes (Bowleg et al, 2003;Greene, 1994;Hatzenbuehler, 2009).…”

“…Overall, study findings illustrate the importance of taking an intersectional approach to understanding the experiences of YMSM (Bowleg, 2008;McConnell et al, 2018;Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008;Williams & Fredrick, 2015). This study focused on the intersection of race/ethnicity and sexuality, which participants identified intersected to shape their experiences in a number of ways.…”

Assessment of Internal Medicine Resident Preparedness to Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning Patients

“…Yet, there is growing consensus that the cause of many health disparities among sexual and gender minority populations includes the deleterious effects of minority stress. [12][13][14][15][16][17] Sexual minority adults (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual) who experienced high rates of minority stress (i.e., reports of discrimination, rejection, internalized homophobia, and identity concealment) reported more total physical health problems (e.g., chronic diseases) 16 and poorer overall health than those who experienced less minority stress. 4 The 2011 Institute of Medicine report detailing the healthcare needs and experiences of sexual and gender minorities was followed by the Joint Commission and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' release of their comprehensive plans to address the healthcare needs of sexual and gender minorities.…”