Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107736

Heather L. Corliss, MPH, PhD¹, Susan D. Cochran, PhD, MS¹, and Vickie M. Mays, PhD, MSPH². (1) Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, 650 Charles Young Drive, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, 310-396-6024, hcorliss@ucla.edu, (2) Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, 1283 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563

Recent studies repeatedly show that adults with a minority sexual orientation, as compared to heterosexuals, are more likely to smoke tobacco and consume alcohol. At the same time, tentative evidence from nonpopulation-based studies suggests that gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults may report lower levels of social support than heterosexual adults. However, studies have yet to compare sexual orientation group differences in social support in representative samples of men and women. In addition, little attention has been given to examining the role of social support in explaining differences in health behaviors among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual persons. Examining these issues is important because the effects of social support on health are comparable to that of other modifiable factors, such as physical activity. We use information from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey (a population-based survey of about 42,000 adults of whom more than 1,300 indicate a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity) to compare levels of perceived social support among individuals who vary by sexual orientation. We also describe the role of social support in explaining differences in tobacco smoking and alcohol use among lesbians, gay men, bisexual, and heterosexual men and women. Results of multiple regression analyses stratified on gender are reported. In general, individuals with a minority sexual orientation report lower levels of social support than heterosexuals. Findings will be discussed in relation to the development of health promoting interventions for lesbians, gay men, and bisexual men and women.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe differences in levels of perceived social support among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual adults.
• Identify the role of social support in explaining tobacco smoking and alcohol use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults.
• Recognize the importance of social support in developing public health interventions for lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults.

Keywords: Mental Health, Substance Abuse

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.