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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Robert M. Kertzner, MD¹, Ilan H. Meyer, PhD², David M. Frost², and Michael S. Stirratt, PhD³. (1) Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, 2154 Broderick Street, San Francisco, CA 94115, 415-441-6196, rmk3@columbia.edu, (2) Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, Department of Sociomedical Sciences, 722 W 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, (3) HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, Columbia University, 1050 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032

Background: Little work examines the effect of multiple sources of identity on well-being in lesbians, gay men, and bisexual men and women as assessed by new measures of psychological and social well-being rooted in clinical, developmental, and humanistic perspectives. These “eudaimonic” measures are germane to sexual minority persons who contend with multiple sources of stigmatization as they seek to realize individual potential and achieve optimal mental health. Method: A community sample that included 396 self-identified lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals (LGB) was recruited in a study of stress, identity, and mental health. Using multiple regression analyses, we examined the effects of sexual identity label (bisexual compared to gay and lesbian identities), age, gender and race on multi-dimensional measures of psychological and social well-being among sexual minority respondents. Results: Consistent with hypothesized impediments to social integration, bisexual identity was associated with lower overall social well-being, although this effect was mediated by connectedness to LGB community. Older age predicted mixed effects on psychological well-being including lower levels of self-acceptance, a finding not generally reported in U.S population-based studies. In contrast to what has been observed in the general population, identity status as African-American or Latino was associated with lower scores on sense of personal growth, a psychological well-being subscale. Conclusions: Multi-dimensional models of psychological and social well-being identify areas of mental health advantage and disadvantage among sexual minority persons with multiple sources of identity. Having co-existent socially disadvantaged identities was associated with selective decrements in well-being.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify new formulations of psychological and social well-being as they apply to LGB populations.
• Describe the effects of multiple sources of identity on psychological and social well-being in LGB persons.
• Discuss how models of minority stress contribute to an understanding of well-being in LGB populations.

Keywords: Gay, Well-Being

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation