Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health among Children and Youth

2020 ◽  
pp. 228-243
Author(s):  
Jessica N. Fish ◽  
Laura Baams ◽  
Jenifer K. McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
The World ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
And Gender

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) young people are coming of age at a time of dynamic social and political changes with regard to LGBTQ rights and visibility around the world. And yet, contemporary cohorts of SGM youth continue to evidence the same degree of compromised mental health demonstrated by SGM youth of past decades. The authors review the current research on SGM youth mental health, with careful attention to the developmental and contextual characteristics that complicate, support, and thwart mental health for SGM young people. Given a large and rapidly growing body of science in this area, the authors strategically review research that reflects the prevalence of these issues in countries around the world but also concentrate on how mental health concerns among SGM children and youth are shaped by experiences with schools, families, and communities. Promising mental health treatment strategies for this population are reviewed. The chapter ends with a focus on understudied areas in the SGM youth mental health literature, which may offer promising solutions to combat SGM population health disparities and promote mental health among SGM young people during adolescence and as they age across the life course.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. xvi-8
Author(s):  
Esther D. Rothblum
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Social Work ◽  
Psychiatric Nursing ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
Minority Mental Health ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Mental Health Programs

The Oxford Handbook of Sexual and Gender Minority Mental Health provides an overview of the current research on the mental health of sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. It is aimed at researchers conducting studies on the mental health of SGM populations, clinicians and researchers interested in psychiatric disorders that affect SGM populations, clinicians using evidence-based practice in the treatment of SGM patients/clients, students in mental health programs (clinical psychology, psychiatry, clinical social work, and psychiatric nursing), and policymakers. This chapter defines some terms and provides an overview of current and past SGM research methods.

scholarly journals Mental Health Challenges and Needs among Sexual and Gender Minority People in Western Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1311
Author(s):  
Gary W. Harper ◽  
Jessica Crawford ◽  
Katherine Lewis ◽  
Caroline Rucah Mwochi ◽  
Gabriel Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Minority ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
And Gender

Background: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people in Kenya face pervasive socio-cultural and structural discrimination. Persistent stress stemming from anti-SGM stigma and prejudice may place SGM individuals at increased risk for negative mental health outcomes. This study explored experiences with violence (intimate partner violence and SGM-based violence), mental health outcomes (psychological distress, PTSD symptoms, and depressive symptoms), alcohol and other substance use, and prioritization of community needs among SGM adults in Western Kenya. Methods: This study was conducted by members of a collaborative research partnership between a U.S. academic institution and a Kenyan LGBTQ civil society organization (CSO). A convenience sample of 527 SGM adults (92.7% ages 18–34) was recruited from community venues to complete a cross-sectional survey either on paper or through an online secure platform. Results: For comparative analytic purposes, three sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) groups were created: (1) cisgender sexual minority women (SMW; 24.9%), (2) cisgender sexual minority men (SMM; 63.8%), and (3) gender minority individuals (GMI; 11.4%). Overall, 11.7% of participants reported clinically significant levels of psychological distress, 53.2% reported clinically significant levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and 26.1% reported clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms. No statistically significant differences in clinical levels of these mental health concerns were detected across SOGI groups. Overall, 76.2% of participants reported ever using alcohol, 45.6% home brew, 43.5% tobacco, 39.1% marijuana, and 27.7% miraa or khat. Statistically significant SOGI group differences on potentially problematic substance use revealed that GMI participants were less likely to use alcohol and tobacco daily; and SMM participants were more likely to use marijuana daily. Lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) was reported by 42.5% of participants, and lifetime SGM-based violence (SGMV) was reported by 43.4%. GMI participants were more likely than other SOGI groups to have experienced both IPV and SGMV. Participants who experienced SGMV had significantly higher rates of clinically significant depressive and PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: Despite current resilience demonstrated by SGM adults in Kenya, there is an urgent need to develop and deliver culturally appropriate mental health services for this population. Given the pervasiveness of anti-SGM violence, services should be provided using trauma-informed principles, and be sensitive to the lived experiences of SGM adults in Kenya. Community and policy levels interventions are needed to decrease SGM-based stigma and violence, increase SGM visibility and acceptance, and create safe and affirming venues for mental health care. Political prioritization of SGM mental health is needed for sustainable change.

Supporting sexual and gender minority health: Research priorities from mental health professionals

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-221
Author(s):  
Kristen D. Clark ◽  
Matthew R. Capriotti ◽  
Juno Obedin-Maliver ◽  
Mitchell R. Lunn ◽  
Micah E. Lubensky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Minority Health ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
And Gender

scholarly journals Assessing mental health signals among sexual and gender minorities using Twitter data

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 765-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunpeng Zhao ◽  
Yi Guo ◽  
Xing He ◽  
Yonghui Wu ◽  
Xi Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minorities ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
Gender Minorities ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
The Difference ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
Minority People

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.

Personal Faith and Professional Ethics: Best Practice with the Families of Sexual and Gender Minority Youths

Social Work ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-372
Author(s):  
Sloan Okrey Anderson ◽  
Jenifer K McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
Therapeutic Services ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Religious mental health practitioners who hold traditional views of gender and sexuality may face moral and ethical dilemmas when working with sexual and gender minority (SGM) clients. Typical responses to this dilemma include selective positioning, values-based referrals, and attempted objectivity. Grounded in social work ethics and values, this article examines the evidence base, viability, and repercussions of these approaches. This article demonstrates the importance of cultural competence and affirmative therapeutic practices for religious mental health practitioners, whether or not they expect to work with gender and sexual minority clients or their families. In addition, the author tackles the difficult issue of providing ethical, evidence-based therapeutic services for religiously conservative parents of SGM children and adolescents. SGM people exist in every community, in every faith, and in every kind of family. The ethical treatment of SGM clients is relevant to all mental health practitioners, regardless of personal values or the type of practice they maintain.

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