The findings of this study provide support for the minority stress theory proposition that chronic social stress due to sexual orientation is associated with poorer mental health. The inclusion of couplelevel stress constructs represents a useful extension of minority stress theory, enriching our capacity to deepen understandings of minority stress experience and its application in the study of wellbeing and health inequalities faced by vulnerable populations. Identity, minority stress and psychological wellbeing. Studies using minority stress theory have focused on the experiences of numerical and social power minorities, though majority individuals may also perceive themselves to be minorities. Sexual minority adolescents sma consistently report health disparities compared to their heterosexual counterparts, yet the underlying mechanisms of these negative health outcomes remain unclear. Minority stress describes chronically high levels of stress faced by members of stigmatized minority groups. Minority stress, masculinity, and social norms predicting.
Perceiving oneself to be a member of a minority as a christian was. Bisexual people are a strongly stigmatized population experiencing health disparities caused by social stigmatization. Minority stress and college persistence attitudes among. Minority stress theory mst proposes that health disparities among populations such as men who have sex with men msm can be explained in large part by stressors induced by a hostile, homophobic culture, which often results in experiences of external prejudice, expectations of rejection, and internalized homophobia meyer.
Oct 25, 2017 lesbian, gay, and bisexual lgb individuals report higher levels of problematic alcohol and substance use than their heterosexual peers. More hostile and stressful social environment due to prejudice, stigma, and discrimination. According to minority stress theory, it is possible for individuals to experience stressors specific to different minority identities. Minority stress refers to stressors that are related to ones minority status such as racialethnic minority and sexual minority individuals that stem from stigma and prejudice meyer2003. Part of this manuscript was adapted from a dissertation by edward j. It is an important concept for psychologists and public health officials who seek to understand and reduce minority health disparities. Specifically, minority stress theory identifies perceived experiences of discrimination. According to the model, there are three general processes by which sexual minorities are. Minority stress and stress proliferation among samesex. The concept of minority stress is not based on one congruous theory, but is inferred from several social and psychological theoretical orientations. Doc minority stress model and trans peoples experience.
Model developed by ilan meyer to explain higher prevalence of mental health disorders among lgb people. This disparity is linked to the experience of lgbspecific stressors, termed minority stress. Minority stress theory mst framework has developed from a number of sociological and socialpsychological theories that discuss adverse health effects of prejudice and stigma on the lives of affected individuals or groups allport, 1954, crocker and major, 1989, goffman, 1959, link and phelan, 2001, major and obrien, 2005. Given the prominent relevance of minority stress to gay and bisexual mens mental health, the first principle of esteem encourages. Using minority stress theory as a conceptual lens to frame. Minority stress and mental health 39 such stress leads to adverse mental health outcomes. Minority stress theory proposes that sexual minority health disparities can be explained in.
Minority stress and physical health among sexual minority. In the workplace, lgbq employees experiencing minority stress report poor mental health outcomes and decreased job satisfaction. The concept behind the the issues that minorities experience is known as minority stress theory and it emphasizes that the frequently difficult social interactions that occur in these groups can have a serious impact on an individuals health. This article discusses how to incorporate minority stress theory into clinical practice with lgb clients.
Minority stress among homosexual and bisexual individuals from theoretical concepts to research tools. Minority stress among homosexual and bisexual individuals. Continued understanding of the role that stigma, prejudice, heteronormativity, rejection, and internalized homophobia play in fueling hiv and substance use among gay. Although the model was originally conceptualized for sexual minorities, it can be applied similarly to gendervariant individuals. The minority stress perspective adds significant insight into the critical application and evaluation of theory regarding the impact of homophobia and correlates of hiv risk among gay and bisexual men and other sexual minorities.
Minority stress and bisexual womens disordered eating laurel b. A proposed framework begins with a twopart clinical assessment. Minority stress theory 511 hold major implications for hiv and substance use interventions among gay and bisexual men. What is minority stress and how do we deal with it. Minority stress, masculinity, and social norms predicting gay. Based on the work of hatzenbuelher 2009, the second. The stress that stigmatized groups experience over time can lead to poor physical and mental health. Pimentel, candidate for the doctor of philosophy degree, and certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay. Minority stress theory minority stress theory posits that sociocultural prejudice and discrimination promotes minority stressors that can have deleterious mental health implications for members of minority populations brooks, 1981. Pimentel, candidate for the doctor of philosophy degree, and certify that in their opinion it. The application of minority stress theory to marijuana use among sexual minority adolescents goldbach et al 2015 preference for marijuana over alcohol and other drugs significantly higher rates of use over sexual majority teens. The foundation for a model of minority stress is not found in one theory, nor is the term minority. The predominant explanatory model is the minority stress theory.
The high rates of mental health and substance use problems in the current study suggest that samesex attracted young people should continue to be a priority. National hivaids strategy for the united states pdf 1. Minority stress is a concept developed by sociologists and psychologists to explain the unique pressures faced by members of minority groups. Table 2 lists reactions to various minority stressors described by participants organized by the cognitive, affective, and interpersonal minority stress pathways of minority stress theory hatzenbuehler, 2009. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual lgb individuals report higher levels of problematic alcohol and substance use than their heterosexual peers. The indirect effect of emotion regulation on minority stress.
The application of minority stress theory to marijuana use among sexual minority adolescents goldbach et al 2015 preference for marijuana over alcohol and other drugs significantly higher rates of use over sexual majority teens complex relationship between internalized homonegativity. Minority stressors including everyday discrimination, internalized stigma, and concealment significantly predicted poorer mental health, despite controlling for general stress exposure. We explored minority stress theory among a sample of members of a numerically and socially dominant group. A framework for incorporating minority stress theory into. Independent variables were developed using minority stress theory meyer, 1995, 2003 and included items related to external prejudice, expectations of rejection and internalized homophobia. The minority stress theory describes in some detail the relationship between stress and stress ameliorating factors meyer, 2003, p. The minority stress model postulates that sexual minorities experience elevated stress as a result of minority discrimination, which contributes to negative mental health outcomes. The sexual minority stress scale grzegorz iniewicz, kinga salapa, malgorzata wrona, natalia marek summary minority stress is a relatively new concept that has emerged from the concept of stress. Apr 07, 2016 minority stress is a concept developed by sociologists and psychologists to explain the unique pressures faced by members of minority groups.
This model posits that, gay people, like members of other minority groups, are subjected to chronic stress related to this. Minority stress experiences and psychological wellbeing. Minority stress theory suggests that sexual minority individuals i. Meyer, 2003 and may ultimately impact access to care. Minority stress theory summarizes these scientific studies to explain how difficult social situations lead to chronic stress and poor health among minority individuals. Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay ncbi. Koos made the first effort at creating a stress theory with the profile of trouble p. Minority stress is understood as the relationship between minority and dominant values and resultant conflict with the social environment experienced by minority group members meyer, 1995, p.
A framework for incorporating minority stress theory into treatment with sexual minority clients edward j. Specifically, minority stress theory identifies perceived experiences of discrimination, internalized. Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian. Part i history and definition of stress theory this first body of research led to the first efforts of development of family stress theory burr, 1989 by sociologist earl koos 1946. The indirect effect of emotion regulation on minority. Minority stress refers to a conceptual model that describes stressors embedded in the social position of sexual minority individuals as causes of healthrelated conditions, such as mental disorders, psychological distress, physical disorders, health behaviors e. Pdf minority stress and the health of sexual minorities. Incorporating minority stress theory 49 framework begins with a twopart clinical assessment process.
Social sciences free fulltext minority stress and mental. Minority stress one elaboration of social stress theory may be referred to as minority stress to distinguish the excess stress to which individuals from stigmatized social categories are exposed as a result of their social, often a minority, position. Many leading health experts point to underlying medical conditions, including heart disease and diabetes, as one explanation for why minority populations are seeing high rates of sickness and death from covid19. For example, concealment of sexual identity may be both a stress and a coping process. Couplelevel minority stress and mental health among. The purpose of this study was to explore the link between bisexual womens experiences of antibisexual discrimination and disordered eating, while examining potential mediating variables underlying this link. Alessi, school of social work, rutgers, the state university of new jersey. Such differential outcomes are often attributed to minority stress, chronic stress that is specific to ones marginalized status and which. In italy, studies assessing this model in bisexual populations. Minority stress theory posits that stress processes specific to a sexual minority orientation can affect the psychological health and well.
Minority stress theory has evolved from firstperson accounts, surveys, interviews, and experiential narratives of social minorities. It may be caused by a number of factors, including poor social support and low socioeconomic status. Developing the lgbt minority stress measure lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals face significant mental and physical health disparities compared to their heterosexual peers. Although stress theory has emphasized external events of discrimination and concealment of stigmatized identity as stressors, minority stress.
Rather than viewing social roles like that of caregiver as critical sources of social stress experience, minority stress theory brooks, 1981. These results indicate the potential utility of minority stress in explaining increased mental health problems in autistic populations. Compared to heterosexuals, nonheterosexuals report. Minority stress research minority stress theory has been applied to the health of lgbt people of color as with much lgbt research, this does not typically address the differences between sexual and gender minorities within the study results. Uncovering clinical principles and techniques to address. Minority stress model an overview sciencedirect topics. Extending the minority stress model to understand mental. Minority stress and bisexual womens disordered eating. Minority stress and its impact on aaymsm regardless of minority status, individuals can be exposed to a wide array of stressors. Minority stress theory has evolved from firstperson accounts, surveys, interviews, and experiential narratives of social minorities, including sgm populations. Aug 01, 2016 according to minority stress theory, it is possible for individuals to experience stressors specific to different minority identities. One elaboration of social stress theory may be referred to as minority stress to distinguish the excess stress to which individuals from stigmatized social categories.
Minority stress theory mst proposes that health disparities among populations such as men who have sex with men msm can be explained in large part by stressors induced by a hostile, homophobic culture, which often results in experiences of external prejudice, expectations of rejection, and internalized homophobia meyer, 2003. Theoretical extensions of minority stress theory for. The minority stress perspective american psychological. Minority stress theory mst proposes that health disparities among populations such as men who have sex with men msm can be explained in large part by stressors induced by a hostile, homophobic culture, which often results in experiences of external prejudice. Meyer s 1995, 2003 minority stress model is an extension developed from this larger theoretical framework that has sought to explain the mental and physical health concerns in the gay male population. The minority stress perspective adds significant insight into the critical application. In general, minority stress can be described as being related to the juxtaposi. Minority stress, intersectionality, and mental health. Perceiving oneself to be a member of a minority as a christian was associated. The first part, based on meyers 2003 minority stress model, examines the effects of prejudice events, stigma, internalized homophobia, and sexual orientation concealment. Minority stress theory meyer 1995, explains why lgb individuals experience higher rates of mental health disorders. Minority stress theory proposes that sexual minority health disparities can be explained in large part by stressors induced by a hostile, homophobic culture, which often results in a lifetime of harassment, maltreatment, discrimination and victimization marshal et al. Working within a stress framework, brooks laid out a sequence of events.
Minority stress factors as mediators of sexual orientation. The predominant framework helping to understand these health disparities and the impact of stigma on mental health of social groups belonging to a sexual minority identity constitutes the minority stress theory. Pdf few studies have examined the impact of minority stress theory upon sexual risk behavior among gay and bisexual men using club drugs. Sexual orientation health disparities have largely been explained through minority stress theory, which describes the excess stress that lgb individuals experience when compared with heterosexual individuals by virtue of their stigmatised sexual orientation. For each minority stress variable, the mean score for all. Minority stress and physical health among sexual minority individuals. An affirmative mindfulness approach for lesbian, gay. Theoretical extensions of minority stress theory for sexual. Drawing on minority stress theory, the present study tested the relations of minority stressors i. The minority stress model is a framework for conceptualizing how experiences unique to minority groupsprejudice and discrimination, in particularconfer chronic psychological stress and heightened physiological responses that impact mental and physical health over time.
These conditions are more common in black and hispanic americans. Rich, mph, school of population and public health, university of british columbia, 2206 east mall, vancouver, british columbia v6t 1z3, canada. Minority stress in lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults in. Criterion and divergent validity of the sexual minority.
The minority stress model posits that sexual minorities face unique and hostile stressors e. University environment mediating minority stress and college persistence attitudes in the persistence literature, tinto s 1993 integration theory is among the most widely cited on college students persistence in school. Explaining the relationship between minority group status. Minority stress and the health of sexual minorities oxford. Pdf minority stress refers to a conceptual model that describes stressors embedded in the social position of sexual minority individuals as. Additionally, bisexual individuals show increased rates of psychopathology, including problematic alcohol and substance use, above and beyond lesbian and gay. Nov 28, 2017 sexual minority adolescents sma consistently report health disparities compared to their heterosexual counterparts, yet the underlying mechanisms of these negative health outcomes remain unclear. The concept of minority stress is based on the premise that gay people in a heterosexist society are subjected to chronic stress related to their stigmatization. Governmental discrimination typically takes form in constitutional discrimination and stays that way. Finally, utilizing minority stress theory meyer, in minority stress and mental health in gay men, columbia university press, new york, ny, 2003 and an affirmativebased practice conceptualization, adapting mindfulnessbased interventions to address mental health issues among sgmy will be explored. A developmentally informed adaptation of minority stress.
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