Sexual orientation differences in levels of life satisfaction: Results from the California Quality of Life Survey II

Background: Anti-gay stigma has been linked to higher risk for mental health morbidity among LGB individuals (Meyer, 2003; Mays & Cochran, 2001; Cochran & Mays, 2009). Whether discrimination has similar harmful effects on general quality of life is unknown. Objectives: We investigate sexual orientation-related differences in quality of life from a representative sample of Californians who vary in their sexual orientation. Methods: The Cal-QOL II survey drew a population-based sample of 2815 Californians, age 18 to 72 years (2065 heterosexual-identified; 750 LGB-identified). All were administered a structured interview assessing sexual orientation and life satisfaction as measured by the 8-item Australian Well Being Index. Multivariate regression methods were used to investigate associations between sexual orientation and life satisfaction while adjusting for possible confounding due to gender, age, education, family income, ethnicity/race, and cohabiting/marital status. Results: LGB individuals reported lower overall life satisfaction than heterosexual individuals after adjusting for confounding (Personal Well Being Index scores: marginal mean = 72.5, SE= 0.9 vs. marginal mean=76.8, SE=0.4, b=4.27, SE=0.99). Similar comparisons in the 7 specific areas measured also indicated significantly lower satisfaction levels with financial security, health, personal relationships, achievement, and future security. However, gender-specific analyses revealed that these decrements, with the exception of health and personal relationships, affected only LGB women and not men. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that sexual orientation minorities, particularly women, experience lower quality of life compared to their heterosexual counterparts. While the reasons for this are currently unknown, presumably these differences reflect as yet unrecognized harmful effects of anti-gay stigma.