Relationship quality and mental health among sexual and gender minorities.

Author(s):  
Elissa L. Sarno ◽  
Christina Dyar ◽  
Michael E. Newcomb ◽  
Sarah W. Whitton
2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-14
Author(s):  
Cathleen Willging

There is a dearth of research, anthropological and otherwise, focused on the mental health needs of sexual and gender minorities in rural areas. The risk for mental illness is greater for such groups due to their repeated exposure to psychosocial stressors associated with discrimination, stigmatization, and violence. The consequences of such exposure may be exacerbated in rural areas, where mental health resources are typically insufficient for the general population. Ethnographic research can provide important insights into how sexual and gender minorities cope with mental health problems within rural settings where treatment options are limited. The methodological challenges of undertaking such research are substantial, and include lack of identification among potential participants with externally imposed social categories, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), and the problem of recruiting "hidden" populations to take part in studies on sensitive topics. When taking into account the geographical dispersion of LGBT people in rural areas, these challenges increase substantially.


2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 1313-1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Ferlatte ◽  
Travis Salway ◽  
Simon Rice ◽  
John L. Oliffe ◽  
Ashleigh J. Rich ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 765-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunpeng Zhao ◽  
Yi Guo ◽  
Xing He ◽  
Yonghui Wu ◽  
Xi Yang ◽  
...  

Sexual and gender minorities face extreme challenges that breed stigma with alarming consequences damaging their mental health. Nevertheless, sexual and gender minority people and their mental health needs remain little understood. Because of stigma, sexual and gender minorities are often unwilling to self-identify themselves as sexual and gender minorities when asked. However, social media have become popular platforms for health-related researches. We first explored methods to find sexual and gender minorities through their self-identifying tweets, and further classified them into 11 sexual and gender minority subgroups. We then analyzed mental health signals extracted from these sexual and gender minorities’ Twitter timelines using a lexicon-based analysis method. We found that (1) sexual and gender minorities expressed more negative feelings, (2) the difference between sexual and gender minority and non-sexual and gender minority people is shrinking after 2015, (3) there are differences among sexual and gender minorities lived in different geographic regions, (4) sexual and gender minorities lived in states with sexual and gender minority-related protection laws and policies expressed more positive emotions, and (5) sexual and gender minorities expressed different levels of mental health signals across different sexual and gender minority subgroups.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samia Tasnim ◽  
Nusrat Fahmida Trisha ◽  
Qiping Fan ◽  
Abida Sultana ◽  
Shayla Haque Mishu ◽  
...  

Background:High burden of mental disorders among sexual minorities including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population is well documented. Digital platforms are increasingly being used by sexual minorities to communicate with each other, but there is no systematic review of digital interventions that can improve mental health among sexual minorities. This systematic review identified and evaluated the digital interventions for mental health among different sexual minorities.Methodology:We searched literature from six major databases and included studies published in the English language, describing interventions that have a component to improve mental health among any of the sexual minorities delivered through any of the digital platforms, and reporting mental health outcomes.Results:Among 1936 citations, only 11 studies fulfilled our criteria. In those studies, most (n=9) interventions were implemented in the U.S. The interventions included varying components including on increasing acceptance and affirmation, increase social support and health education, cognitive behavioral therapy to manage stress, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Only 6 studies had randomized control design. Most of the studies reported reduction in bi/homonegativity and increased affirmation, decreased smoking and substance abuse, improved coping skills, reduced level of depression, anxiety, and stress among participants in the intervention groups.Conclusion:To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review that evaluated digital intervention for mental health among sexual and gender minorities. Despite a low number of studies and heterogeneity across studies, the findings suggest potential improvements in mental health among sexual and gender minorities using digital interventions.


The Handbook of Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with Sexual and Gender Minorities represents the first compendium of evidence-based approaches to sexual and gender minority (SGM)-affirmative mental health practice. In the past several years, clinical researchers have begun developing and adapting evidence-based mental health treatment approaches to be affirmative of SGM individuals’ unique mental health. Because these approaches draw on research documenting unique psychosocial processes underlying SGM individuals’ mental health as well as adapt existing evidence-based treatments to impact these processes, these treatments can be considered evidence-based. Because these approaches promote effective coping with stigma-related stress and are often developed with feedback from SGM community members, these treatments can also be considered SGM-affirmative. This handbook compiles these approaches, including evidence-based treatments for specific populations within the SGM community (e.g., youth, transgender individuals, same-sex couples, parents, and bisexuals), for specific mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance abuse, trauma, eating disorders, sexual health), and using novel modalities (e.g., group therapy; acceptance-based, dialectical behavior therapy; attachment-based, transdiagnostic therapy). Each chapter includes conceptual background and practical guidance so that mental health practitioners, researchers, educators, and students can both understand how to implement each of these approaches and develop future tests of their efficacy and the efficacy of other SGM-affirmative approaches.


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