Variables that enhance the development of resilience in young gay people affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

AimsSexual and gender minorities are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety caused by COVID‐19. However, they also have specific variables that have been little studied but which may protect them from this adverse situation. The aim of this study was to find out whether there were differences in socio‐demographic and psychosocial variables in two groups of Spanish gay young people (high and low resilience), and predictors of risk and protective factors were examined.MethodsNine hundred and seventy‐nine young homosexuals (389; 39.73% self‐reported as women) aged between 18 and 26 years old who experienced mandatory confinement due to COVID‐19, completed an anonymous online questionnaire. Hope, perceived self‐efficacy, reappraisal index, coping humour, anxiety, depression were assessed along with socio‐demographic information. Data were collected between 15 and 26 April 2020.ResultsSocio‐demographic variables that were predictive of highly resilient behaviour included being between 24 and 26 years old, living with LGBTI+ peers and living in big cities, protective psychosocial variables included reframing in reappraising the confinement situation, humour as coping, social support from significant others and self‐efficacy.ConclusionThis is one of the first studies on this subject of compulsory COVID‐19 confinement on young homosexuals in Spain. Mental health professionals and organizations should also include work on psychosocial protective factors, not just risk factors, to enhance resilient outcomes in this group.

Protective Factors for Suicidal Behaviour in Adults Self-reported as LGBTQ+: A Study Based on Modulating Variables

“…Fritz's Reappraisal Index (RI) (2020) in its Spanish adaptation for people with a homosexual orientation was adapted from Lorabi et al (2023). This measure attempts to distinguish between participants who are able to make a positive cognitive reappraisal of different stressful events in their lives compared to those who done't.…”

“…In this sense, despite the challenges and adversities faced by LGBTQ + people, there is a high level of resilience in the face of suicide and its associated di culties (Lorabi et al, 2023). Both resilience and its modulating variables can mitigate negative outcomes and promote psychological well-being (McConnell et al, 2018), and it applies to this group of people too (Katz et al, 2023).…”

“…In addition, access to competent and culturally sensitive mental health services can provide the support needed to address mental health issues within the LGBTQ + community (Pachankis, 2020). Furthermore, reappraisal of adverse or stressful situations has recently been linked to better mental health (Lorabi et al, 2023), whereby an increased ability to reappraise negative events in a more constructive way may reduce stress levels in negative situations. Similarly, assessing emotional regulation in situations of high adversity tends to protect against suicidal reactions (Hutchinson, 2022), and other variables such as positive mental health have been linked to protective factors against suicidal behaviour in other clinical subpopulations (Sánchez-Teruel et al, 2020b).…”