Minority stress and mental health in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer survivors of sexual assault

Abstract

Extant research has shown that sexual violence disproportionately affects lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals, conferring risk for the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and related mental health conditions. However, little research has focused on specific vulnerabilities among LGBTQ+-identified sexual assault (SA) survivors (e.g., minority stress) and their associations with post-SA psychopathology. To address this gap, we examined associations between experiences of minority stress and post-SA psychopathology in a sample of LGBTQ+ individuals who experienced SA (N = 92) and completed a battery of self-report measures. Results revealed significant differences in internalized stigma, community connectedness, alcohol use, and cannabis use across sexual orientation and gender modality groups, ηp2 =.08–11. Additionally, regression analyses indicated that experiences of violence and victimization were significantly associated with higher PTSS, β =.31, p =.020; anxiety, β =.39, p =.003; and alcohol use severity, β =.31, p =.027, over and above other experiences of minority stress and psychopathology risk factors. Internalized stigma was significantly associated with cannabis use severity, β =.34, p =.011. Finally, community connectedness was significantly associated with lower anxiety symptom severity, β = −.42, p =.001. Although longitudinal work is needed, findings indicate that experiences of minority stress may serve as risk or maintenance factors for post-SA psychopathology. These results offer important considerations for future treatment approaches tailored to LGBTQ+ survivors of SA.