Stressful situations and coping strategies in the LGB community

Abstract

Introduction: Stress in the LGB community is associated with their sexual orientation, violence or discrimination, stressful events which are different from those reported by heterosexual people. The literature reports a relationship between the level of stress and mental health problems, of greater intensity and frequency in the LGB population. Objective: The purpose was to identify stressful situations, coping strategies and associated emotions in the LGB community. Method: A descriptive study was carried out with a non-experimental cross-sectional design, through non-probabilistic sampling, with the participation of 272 men and women aged 14 to 56 years. The Questionnaire of Emotions, Stress and Coping of Vega et al. (2012). Results: Homosexual, bisexual and lesbian participants agree in first reporting situations of communicating their sexual orientation, the remaining situations are school, work and discrimination for belonging to the LGB community. Participants use action-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies in similar proportions (48 %-50 %). Emotions associated with stressful situations are anxiety, fear, shame, guilt. In pleasant situations they also report negative emotions. Conclusions: The type of stressful situations are different in these populations because they more frequently face events related to discrimination or confrontation due to their sexual orientation. Infor-mation is provided on what and how situations that generate stress in the LGB population are coped with. It is suggested to generate cognitive behavioral interventions for emotional regulation and effective coping.