The Influence of Minority Stress on Level of Depression among Thai LGBT Adults

Kittiteerasack, Priyoth; Steffen, Alana; Matthews, Alicia K.

doi:10.7454/jki.v23i1.1073

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Among the specific mental disorders, the one with the highest prevalence is major depressive disorder, which is at least 3 times (40.1% vs. 12%) [ 33 ] and as high as 20 times (40.1% vs. 2.3%) [ 2 ] more prevalent than in the Malaysian general population. This is comparable to a Thai study with similar populations, where the prevalence of depression was found to be 40.3% [ 34 ], and a multinational Southeast Asian study, which found depression to be in 23.5% of its sample [ 35 ]. Although there is no recent source for the prevalence of suicidal behavior disorder or suicide attempts for the general Malaysian population, our study found that 21.1% of our participants fulfilled the criteria of suicidal behavior disorder, compared with the Thai data of 13.1% [ 36 ] and the multinational Southeast Asian data of 35.3% [ 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Coping Strategies and Mental Disorders among the LGBT+ Community in Malaysia

2022

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The LGBT+ community in Malaysia is vulnerable to mental disorders due to the pressures of being in a conservative heteronormative culture. This study aimed to study the association between coping strategies as well as the sociodemographic factors of LGBT+ individuals with mental disorders and quantify the occurrence of mental disorders among them. This study used a cross-sectional design. The self-rated Brief Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) were used to this end. A total of 152 participants were recruited. Among the participants, 67.8% used mainly problem-focused coping strategies, 29.6% employed emotion-based coping, and 6.6% used avoidance coping. The prevalence of mental disorders in general and major depressive disorder was much higher than in the general Malaysian population (80.3% and 40.1%, respectively). The only sociodemographic factor that was significantly associated with mental disorders was bisexuality. Problem-focused coping is associated with fewer mental disorders, and emotion-based coping is associated with a higher prevalence of mental disorders. More studies need to be conducted to better understand and better manage the mental disorders of the Malaysian LGBT+ community.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Coping Strategies and Mental Disorders among the LGBT+ Community in Malaysia

2022

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“…Without a supportive environment comprised of individuals who gay and bisexual men trust and who they share positive character traits with, men may have trouble processing emotional and physical discrimination that can fester feelings of depression and internalization homonegativity, factors which have been associated with IPV [16,24]. When considering reports that almost all MSM had experienced some form of homophobia in one study, and another study which reported that half of MSM discrimination events are connected to sexual orientation or gender identity, this becomes especially relevant [25,26]. There has been an increase in recent years towards research catered to Thai gay and bisexual male communities, however there still remains a gap in understanding the effect that sexual orientation disclosure has on depression and the potentially influential role of other variables, including social support and IPV.…”

Section: Sexual Orientation Disclosurementioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual orientation disclosure and depression among Thai gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: The roles of social support and intimate partner violence

Encina,

Waratworawan,

Kongjareon

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Background Among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM), sexual orientation disclosure to social groups can act as a significant risk for depression. The primary goal of this research is to understand the association between disclosure and depression, the association of social support and intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences, depression, and disclosure. Methods This project uses a secondary dataset of Thailand from a larger cross-sectional study distributed in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. This study utilized web-based answers from 1468 Thai GBM respondents between the ages of 15–24 years. Results Prevalence of depression was over 50%. Across the social groups of interest, those who disclosed to everyone had the lowest depression prevalence. This association was statistically significant for all groups (p<0.050) except for “Family members” (p = 0.052). There was a statistically significant association illustrated between full disclosure to social groups and increased social support. Most respondents (43.9%) had low social support, and additionally this group had the highest level of depression, compared to those with high social support. There was a statistically significant association for lowered depression outcomes and increased social support. IPV experiences that occurred within the last six months had a statistically significant relationship with depression (p = 0.002). There was a notable association between those with experiences of being a victim of IPV, alone and in conjunction with experience of being a perpetrator of IPV, which was associated with increased odds of depression. However, the type of IPV experiences an individual had did not differ based on disclosure status. Discussion This study provides strengthened evidence of the impact that differences in supportive networks can have on mental health outcomes. In addition, they provided a wider consideration for how people may have different IPV experiences, either as a perpetrator, victim, or both, and how those shapes health outcomes of depression. GBM communities still face adversity and challenges that affect their long-term health outcomes, even if they do live in what is considered an accepting country.

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“…We did not find associations between other minority stressors and depressive symptoms. However, a study in Thailand suggested that experiences of victimization, discrimination, and identify concealment also predicted depression among sexual minorities [83]. More research is needed to confirm the relationship between various minority stressors and depressive symptoms in different cultural contexts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minority stress, depression, and cigarette smoking among Chinese gay versus bisexual men: a two-group structural equation model analyses

Huang

Windle

et al. 2021

BMC Public Health

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Background Literature in the West suggested that bisexual men have a higher smoking rate compared to gay men. Data on patterns of smoking among gay and bisexual men are limited in Eastern Asian countries like China. This study examined the cigarette smoking prevalence for gay versus bisexual men in China and their unique minority stress - smoking pathways. Methods Between September 2017 and November 2018, we surveyed a convenience sample of 538 gay men and 138 bisexual men recruited from local sexual minority organizations in four metropolitan cities in China (i.e., Beijing, Wuhan, Nanchang, and Changsha). Measures included sexual orientation, sociodemographics, theory-based minority stressors, depressive symptoms, and past 30-day cigarette smoking. Two-group (gay men vs. bisexual men) structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test possible distinct mechanisms between theory-based stressors, depressive symptoms, and cigarette smoking among gay men and bisexual men, respectively. Results The mean age of participants was 26.51 (SD = 8.41) years old and 76.3% of them had at least a college degree. Bisexual men reported a higher rate of cigarette smoking compared to gay men (39.9% vs. 27.3%). Two-group SEM indicated that the pathways for cigarette smoking were not different between gay and bisexual men. Higher rejection anticipation was associated with greater depressive symptoms (standardized β = 0.32, p < .001), and depressive symptoms were not associated with cigarette smoking. Conclusions Minority stress, specifically rejection anticipation, may be critical considerations in addressing depressive symptoms, but not smoking, among both gay and bisexual men in China.

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The Influence of Minority Stress on Level of Depression among Thai LGBT Adults

Cited by 15 publications

References 21 publications

Coping Strategies and Mental Disorders among the LGBT+ Community in Malaysia

Coping Strategies and Mental Disorders among the LGBT+ Community in Malaysia

Sexual orientation disclosure and depression among Thai gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: The roles of social support and intimate partner violence

Minority stress, depression, and cigarette smoking among Chinese gay versus bisexual men: a two-group structural equation model analyses

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