Response to Commentaries: Toward a Unifying Framework for Understanding and Improving Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health

Abstract

In my Target Article (Feinstein, 2019), I described how the rejection sensitivity (RS) model (Downey & Feldman, 1996) could be used to complement and extend minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003) and the psychological mediation framework (Hatzenbuehler, 2009). The commentaries on my Target Article expanded on the relevance of the RS model for diverse sexual and gender minority 1 (SGM) populations (e.g., adolescents; see Baams, Kiekens, & Fish, 2019; transgender and gender diverse individuals; see Wells, Tucker, & Kraines, 2019), and described additional theories that could also be used to advance our understanding of SGM mental health (e.g., explanatory models of suicidal thoughts and behaviors; see Wells et al., 2019; ecological systems theory; see Downey & Daniels, 2020). Here, I respond by discussing three issues that were raised in multiple commentaries: (1) the extent to which social versus individual factors should be considered in models of SGM mental health; (2) the range of existing theories that could be used to inform our understanding of SGM metal health; and (3) the need to not only intervene on RS, but to prevent it before it develops. Ultimately, by acknowledging the complex ways in which SGM people interact with the social environment, we can move toward developing a unifying framework for understanding and improving SGM mental health.Terms of use and reuse: academic research for non-commercial purposes, see here for full terms. https://www.springer.com/aamterms-v1

Factors influencing LGBTQ+ disclosure decision-making by Canadian health professionals: A qualitative study

“…A small qualitative study makes no claims to generalizability, but our results support important directions for further research. Clearly identity concealment/disclosure at work is a complex matter, and our results suggest the importance of attending to social factors on multiple levels, holding them as at least as significant as individual attributes like 'reaction sensitivity,' selfesteem and personal positive regard [e.g., [43][44][45]. In particular, attention to type of employment, power hierarchies at work, and power relations resulting from intersecting social identities appear promising.…”