The temporal intersectional minority stress model: Reimagining minority stress theory

Abstract

Two decades have passed since Ilan Meyer first published the minority stress theory (MST) model. Since then, scholars have used MST extensively to expand the field's understanding of LGBTQ+ populations' experiences with stress and mental health. To better represent these experiences, scholars have combined MST with other theories in empirical articles, but a theoretical model has yet to be proposed that unifies this work. In the current paper, we seek to acknowledge and extend this work by proposing a Temporal Intersectional Minority Stress (TIMS) model. The TIMS model incorporates Intersectionality and historical, generational, and developmental time from Life Course Theory to account for the sociopolitical and cultural changes that have occurred since the creation of the original MST model. We hope this model will help extend work related to minority stress, and we invite further theoretical development to occur using this model as a new framework for scholars to consider.