Resilience in LGB Youths: A Systematic Review of Protection Mechanisms

Freitas, Daniela Fonseca de; Coimbra, Susana; Fontaine, Anne Marie

doi:10.1590/1982-43272766201709

Cited by 22 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(140 reference statements)

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“…Several protective factors linked to improved mental health among sexual minorities have been reported in the literature and may also be grouped at different observational levels such as a structural or contextual (e.g., at schools or in communities), interpersonal or social (e.g., in interaction with peers, friends, or family), or an individual or psychological level (e.g., regarding a sexual identity or self-schema). These factors include having a positive sexual identity, self-esteem, high degree of self-acceptance, adaptive coping skills, social support from friends, strong family connectedness, and parental support (Blais et al, 2015;Freitas et al, 2017;Haas et al, 2011;Hall, 2018;Katz-Wise et al, 2016;McDonald, 2018;Meyer, 2013;Russell & Fish, 2016). School connectedness, school safety, access to an affirming school curriculum, and sports involvement, are well-established protective factors within the school environment for young sexual minorities (Blais et al, 2015;Haas et al, 2011;Russell & Fish, 2016).…”

Section: Resilience Among Sexual Minoritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual orientation openness and depression symptoms: A population-based study.

Star¹,

Pachankis²,

Bränström³

2019

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

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Background: Compared to heterosexual individuals, sexual minorities (e.g., those identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual) are at higher risk of several mental health problems, including suicidality, substance abuse, depression, and anxiety. Research has attributed much of these elevated risks to unique and chronic stress experiences, so-called minority stress, relating to the stigma and prejudice that many sexual minorities face. Less is known about how sexual minority stigma may function as a multilevel socio-ecological system that includes stigma-related risk factors at various levels, such as the structural (e.g., negative population attitudes and discriminatory laws and policies), interpersonal (e.g., victimization and harassment), and individual level (e.g., internalization of negative societal attitudes and concealment of sexual identity), to drive poor mental health among sexual minorities. Such a socio-ecological system of sexual minority stigma may feature unique characteristics and components, including 1) a chronosystem in which stigma-related factors may vary and exert effects across time, space, and the life course, 2) cross-level effects in which stigma-related factors at one level may give rise to stigma at another level, and 3) mechanisms that explain how stigma-related factors may compromise sexual minorities' mental health. Purpose and aims:The purpose of this Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) thesis was to contribute to the advancement of sexual minorities' mental health equity by furthering the scientific knowledge on the mechanisms underlying sexual orientation-based disparities in mental health. The Ph.D. thesis aimed to do so by 1) advancing theoretical thinking through combing the existing frameworks of minority stress and psychological mediation with socioecological theory, 2) examining mental health disparities by sexual orientation, and 3) testing different elements of a proposed socio-ecology of sexual minority stigma framework.Methods: Cross-sectional individual-level data were used from surveys sent out to sexual minorities living in Sweden, across Europe, and/or with migration backgrounds. The first two of the presented studies used probability-based sampling techniques to identify representative population-based samples, while the other two studies used convenience samples of sexual minorities who lived in, or have moved from, various countries, diverse in structural climates. Data for the latter two studies were combined with objective indicators of structural forms of stigma present in these countries. In all studies, mediation and/or moderation analyses were employed to examine the explanatory or buffering, respectively, mechanisms underlying the associations between stigma-related factors and sexual minority mental health or wellbeing.

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Section: Resilience Among Sexual Minoritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual orientation openness and depression symptoms: A population-based study.

Star¹,

Pachankis²,

Bränström³

2019

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

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“…While social support was associated with psychological distress cross-sectionally, it did not predict psychological distress longitudinally in cohorts of young LGBTQ ( 70 ) and gay men aged 40 years and over ( 27 ). Although positive relations with others appear to have no independent effects on mental morbidity outcomes in this sample, they may exert indirect effects via other psycho-social resources ( 8 , 67 , 71 ) as have been found for parental social support in studies among adolescents generally ( 66 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 40%

“…Generally, social support has been shown to be protective against depression among adolescents and adults ( 66 ). Although social support has been linked to the psycho-social resources of self-esteem and self-acceptance (including internalized homophobia) among sexual minority adolescents ( 67 , 68 ) and adults ( 69 ), its link to depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation is equivocal among adolescents ( 59 , 67 ). While social support was associated with psychological distress cross-sectionally, it did not predict psychological distress longitudinally in cohorts of young LGBTQ ( 70 ) and gay men aged 40 years and over ( 27 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both gay-specific and generalized indicators of self-acceptance should be considered in future work among gay men and include masculinity/femininity. However, findings among LGB youths suggest that valence matters: although internalized homophobia was consistently associated with depression and drug use, positive permutations of self-acceptance of one's homosexuality were not related to depression or anxiety ( 67 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mindfulness and Other Psycho-Social Resources Protective Against Mental Illness and Suicidality Among Gay Men

Wang¹,

Häusermann

Ambresin³

2018

Front. Psychiatry

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Background: There is considerable evidence of health disparities among gay men characterized by higher levels of stress and distress. Psycho-social resources have been linked to numerous positive health outcomes and shown to act as buffers in the stress-distress pathway.Methods: With data from the 3rd Geneva Gay Men's Health Survey carried out in 2011 using time-space sampling (n = 428), a relatively elaborate profile of 14 psycho-social resources—including mindfulness—is presented. Using their original scores, latent class analysis created an index variable dividing the respondents into meaningful groups. Psycho-social resources—the index variable as well as each resource individually—were then compared to two recent outcomes—i.e., serious mental illness in the past 4 weeks and short-term disability in the past 2 weeks—using a series of logistic regression models, controlling for all other psycho-social resources and socio-demographic confounders. To assess their potential role as buffers, a similar series of logistic regression models were erected using victimization and three outcomes—i.e., major depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt—in the past 12 months.Results: According to the latent class analyses, (1) 5.1% of this sample had a low level of psycho-social resources (i.e., one standard deviation (SD) below the group means), (2) 25.2% a medium-low level, (3) 47.4% a medium level (i.e., at the group means), and (4) 22.2% a high level of psycho-social resources (i.e., one SD above the group means). Psycho-social resources appeared to strongly protect against recent mental morbidity and buffer against the impact of victimization on major depression and suicidality in the past 12 months, reducing the adjusted odds ratios below statistical significance. The explained variance and the individual psycho-social resources which remained independent in the models differed for each outcome.Conclusions: There may be disparities in several psycho-social resources among gay men, and as strong compensatory and protective factors, they may explain in part the well-established disparities in stress and distress in this population. While multiple psycho-social resources should be promoted in this population, gay men under 25 years should receive particular attention as all three disparities are most pronounced in this age group.

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“…Por outro lado, mesmo as histórias mais dramáticas das minorias sexuais não frisam apenas o sofrimento e a vitimização, mas também a sobrevivência e a superação (Plummer, 1995), de modo que pesquisadores têm situado sob a temática da resiliência, tanto em nível pessoal como também familiar e social (Freitas, Coimbra & Fontaine, 2017;Lira & Morais, 2017). Nas narrativas vistas aqui, a resiliência é garantida pela rede de apoio em torno dos participantes, ainda que limitada no número de parentes ou no grau de aceitação de cada um.…”

Section: Rafael Zanata Albertini Márcio Luís Costa E Rodrigo Lopes Munclassified

Narrativas fora do armário: a identidade sexual de homens gays na cidade

2019

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Este estudo visa investigar os processos de reconhecimento da identidade gay numa capital brasileira com base em entrevistas narrativas com quatro participantes entre 21 e 42 anos. As entrevistas foram analisadas conforme a teoria da interpretação e da narratividade de Ricoeur. Os relatos mostram que a “saída do armário” possui algumas similitudes, como as primeiras percepções de “ser diferente” na infância e a elaboração da identidade sexual a partir da adolescência. Entretanto, as muitas singularidades indicam que as trajetórias para “sair do armário” consistem em processos de reconhecimento subjetivo e intersubjetivo, os quais dependem de fatores contextuais para produzir bem-estar ou sofrimento psíquico.

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Resilience in LGB Youths: A Systematic Review of Protection Mechanisms

Cited by 22 publications

References 35 publications

Sexual orientation openness and depression symptoms: A population-based study.

Sexual orientation openness and depression symptoms: A population-based study.

Mindfulness and Other Psycho-Social Resources Protective Against Mental Illness and Suicidality Among Gay Men

Narrativas fora do armário: a identidade sexual de homens gays na cidade

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