Emotional Distress Among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Perceived Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation

By Joanna Almeida, Renee M. Johnson, Heather L. Corliss, Beth E. Molnar, D. Azrael. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2009

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The authors evaluated emotional distress among 9th–12th grade students, and examined whether the association between being lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgendered (i.e., “LGBT”) and emotional distress was mediated by perceptions of having been treated badly or discriminated against because others thought they were gay or lesbian. Data come from a school-based survey in Boston, Massachusetts (n = 1,032); 10% were LGBT, 58% were female, and ages ranged from 13 to 19 years. About 45% were Black, 31% were Hispanic, and 14% were White. LGBT youth scored significantly higher on the scale of depressive symptomatology. They were also more likely than heterosexual, non-transgendered youth to report suicidal ideation (30% vs. 6%, p < 0.0001) and self-harm (21% vs. 6%, p < 0.0001). Mediation analyses showed that perceived discrimination accounted for increased depressive symptomatology among LGBT males and females, and accounted for an elevated risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation among LGBT males. Perceived discrimination is a likely contributor to emotional distress among LGBT youth.

Subfields: Infectious Diseases, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0f03d44443811bb08030b9ac78785539b5c4557b

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Citations in the corpus

Sexual Orientation Microaggressions: Processes and Coping Mechanisms for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals (2011, background): “Another study reported that LGBT youth scored significantly higher on the scale of depressive symptomatology than their heterosexual counterparts (Almeida, Johnson, Corliss, Molnar, & Azrael, 2009 ).”
The social crisis aftermath: tourist well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak (2020, background): “…referring to prejudiced beliefs and behaviors against a variety of stigmatized groups such as certain races/ethnicities (Zschirnt & Ruedin, 2016); women (Koch et al., 2015); lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people (Almeida et al., 2009); and the disabled (Dirth & Branscombe, 2019).”
Transgender Population Size in the United States: a Meta-Regression of Population-Based Probability Samples. (2017, background): “alize to the United States as a whole, as they were based on data collected inMassachusetts adults(19) and 9th to 12th graders in Boston public schools.(20) Perhaps the best current estimate is provided by Flores et al.”
Rape Prevention and Risk Reduction: Review of the Research Literature for Practitioners (2009, positive): “In conclusion, although previous research with LGBTQ youth has documented the deleterious psychological sequelae of sexual minority stress (Almeida et al. 2009; Cox et al. 2011; Kelleher 2009; Mohr and Daly 2008; Vanden Berghe et al. 2010), the current study extends this previous work by examining…”
Mental health of sexual minorities. A systematic review (2015, methodology): “Comparable effects for SM men and women were reported in some studies (Almeida et al., 2009; Cheng et al., 2014; Frisell et al., 2010; Grella et al., 2011; Lhomond et al., 2014; Lucassen et al., 2014; Matthews & Lee, 2014; Needham, 2012; Pearson & Wilkinson, 2013; Pesola et al., 2014).”
Transgender Identity and Experiences of Violence Victimization, Substance Use, Suicide Risk, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among High School Students — 19 States and Large Urban School Districts, 2017 (2019, result): “This finding is consistent with previous studies of the prevalence of transgender identity among adolescents (4,5) and points to the utility of this measure to assess transgender identity broadly in a population-based study.”