Correlates of Perceived Stress in the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Communities: Self-esteem, Heterosexism and Depression

Lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) individuals experience stress from the prejudice, discrimination and stigma of homosexuality which may lead to physical, psychological and mental disorders (Huebner et al., 2007). Researchers (Tye et al., 2006; Yakushko, 2005) report a strong association between gay-related stress and both lower self-esteem and life satisfaction for LGB, who are sexual minorities. Rejection and experiencing prejudice can also erode self-esteem in sexual minorities, often leading to greater anxiety and depression (Robin et al., 2003). Bricker et al (2009) report that internalized homophobia correlates with poor mental health outcomes, low meaning in life, and high levels of depression and perceived stress. Using the Minority Stress Model (Meyer, 1995) as a conceptual framework, we hypothesize that high levels of depression and heterosexism and low levels of self-esteem collectively account for a significant amount of variance in perceived stress among sexual minorities. Using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale, Heterosexist Harassment, Rejection and Discrimination Scale and Perceived Stress Scale we collected self-reported data from a convenience sample of 148 self-identified LGB participants recruited from community-based organizations in Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton. Our hierarchical regression analysis, which controlled for ethnicity, age, income and sexual orientation revealed that self-esteem (â=.35,t(144)=4.54, p<.001), heterosexism (â=.17,t(144)=2.76, p<.05), and depression (â=.22,t(144)=2.80, p<.01) accounted for 46% of variance in stress (Adj R²=.46, F(10,135) =13.18, p<.001). Consistent with previous research, our study findings suggest that public health research should incorporate depression, homophobia and self-esteem when addressing perceived stress among sexual minorities.