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Rural populations are traditionally understudied, especially as it is concerned with the experiences of sexual minority women. Previous research has found that sexual minorities experience worse health outcomes in comparison to heterosexual individuals, which could be due to minority stress (the unique stressors they face as sexual minorities, such as discrimination and concealment of sexual orientation) (Meyer, 2003). More recent research has found that the relationship between minority stress and health outcomes has been mediated by social variables, like social isolation (Hatzenbuehler et al., 2009). Thus, the current study examined the indirect effects of proximal minority stress of concealment on self-rated health and quality of life through various social factors (community connectedness, social support, indirect support seeking, and belongingness). Participants included 134 sexual minority women in Northeast Tennessee. Participants completed the following measures: the Short Form LIHS (Szynmanski & Chung, 2001); Indirect Social Seeking Scale (Barbee & Cunningham, 1995); the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988); the Belongingness Scale (Malone et al., 2012); the Connectedness to the LGBT Community Scale (Frost & Meyer, 2012); WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization, 1998); SF36v2 (Health Survey, 1996). In order to test that belongingness, social support, indirect support seeking, and community connectedness mediated the relationship between concealment to quality of life and self-rated health, a mediational analysis was conducted using PROCESS (Hayes, 2014) macro. Analysis showed that concealment was indirectly linked through belongingness with quality of life and self-related health. Concealment significantly predicted belongingness (b = -.327, p = .021), which in turn significantly predicted self-rated health life (b = .214, p = .004) and quality of life (b = .251, p < .001). A mediational analysis was conducted, and it was found that concealment had an indirect effect on self-rated health through belongingness (effect = -.070, 95% CI = -.1865, -.0105) and indirect effect on quality of life through belongingness (effect = -.066, 95% CI = -.161, -.001). All other mediational analyses were nonsignificant. Our results suggest that cognitive aspects of social life, like perceived belongingness, may be an important mechanism through which minority stress affects health.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / AIM People with marginalized sexual orientations experience mental health and substance use problems at a higher rate compared to heterosexuals. Experiences of discrimination have been identified as a significant factor in explaining such disparities, and a growing body of literature has developed seeking to explore the contexts in which discrimination occurs. However, one context that is understudied is the online environment. Based on Meyer’s (2003) Minority Stress Model (MSM), it is postulated that specific proximal group-specific processes mediate the relationship between discrimination and health outcomes, with other social factors providing protective effects. However, research is sparse empirically investigating different mechanisms, consequences, and potential modifying factors for sexual minority young adults experiencing online heterosexist discrimination (OHD). Thus, the current study aims to explore experiences of OHD among young adults. METHODS Using the MSM as a guiding framework, the study examined proximal factors of internalized heterosexism, online concealment, and rejection sensitivity as mechanisms underlying the effect of OHD on health outcomes and online social support as a moderating factor. 383 young adults (18-35) with marginalized sexual orientations were recruited from an introductory psychology subject pool, two online crowdsourcing platforms (Prolific, MTurk), and the community. They completed measures of OHD, online social support, online concealment, rejection sensitivity, internalized heterosexism, psychological distress, and substance use. RESULTS Path analyses in Mplus revealed that two proximal stressors (rejection sensitivity, sexual orientation concealment) were positively related to psychological distress as a result of OHD. Sexual orientation concealment was associated with increased risk for cannabis use due to OHD. Online social support from LGBTQ+ peers did not buffer these relationships. CONCLUSION The MSM is a viable guiding framework in exploring OHD. Rejection sensitivity and online sexual orientation concealment are important constructs to consider for future research and may be ideal treatment targets for individuals experiencing psychological distress or engaging in cannabis use due to OHD.

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The minority stress theory proposes that higher rates of mental illness among individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual result from various factors that one may experience as a function of their minority status (Meyer, 1995, 2003). Such factors include internalized homophobia, concealment of one’s sexual identity, and the experiences of discrimination and rejection, whether real or perceived. This study investigated the relationship between minority stress and working memory. Based on the well documented research finding of the higher prevalence of mental illness among individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual, relative to their heterosexual counterparts (S. D. Cochran, Sullivan, & Mays, 2003; Hatzenbuehler, 2009; Mays & Cochran, 2001), it was hypothesized that higher levels of minority stress would predict higher levels of psychological distress. In addition, models of chronic stress have predicted that individuals who are under constant stress conditions are more likely to have working memory deficits (Egeland et al., 2005; Schmader & Johns, 2003). Thus, it was hypothesized that the relationship between minority stress and working memory would be mediated by psychological distress. Identity valence is the evaluation of one’s identity and could be either positive or negative (Ashmore, Deaux, & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004; Meyer, 2003). It was hypothesized that identity valence would further mediate the relationship between minority stress and working memory. Participants included 309 adults who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB), recruited via community-based and snowball sampling techniques (Meyer & Colten, 1999; Meyer & Wilson, 2009). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to examine direct and indirect effects of the relationship between minority stress and working memory. Results indicated that higher levels of working memory predict higher levels of psychological distress. Further, the relationship between minority stress and working memory was mediated through psychological distress and rumination. Finally, identity valence did not have the protective factor that was hypothesized and demonstrated in previous literature (Kertzner, Meyer, Frost, & Stirratt, 2009; Meyer, 2003). Rather, higher levels of identity valence predicted higher levels of psychological distress. Implications, strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. / School Psychology

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It is widely accepted that the LGB (Lesbian, gay and bisexual) population have a higher risk of psychological distress compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Meyer (2003) proposed the minority stress model to explain this increased prevalence. This model proposed that the LGB population are subjected to additional stressors due to their minority status which results in the increased psychological distress observed. The purpose of this study was to investigate some of the risk factors proposed by this model, specifically experiences of sexual prejudice, negative internalised beliefs about homosexuality/bisexuality, coping strategies and how these factors interact to influence the development of psychological distress. This study included 542 LGB individuals who completed measures of sexual prejudice, internalised homophobia, coping strategies and current levels of psychological distress using an online survey. The study found a high prevalence of sexual prejudice within the sample, with 84% of the sample reporting at least one experience of sexual prejudice. 67% reported being verbally abused and 17% reported being physically assaulted. A high number of participants scored above the cut-off for a diagnosis of depression (27%) and anxiety (19%). Regression and path analysis revealed that maladaptive coping had the strongest effect on psychological distress. Sexual prejudice and internalised homophobia, also both had a significant direct impact upon psychological distress, and they were also partially mediated by maladaptive coping. Problem-focused coping was found to be a protective factor with a direct, albeit weak, effect on psychological distress. Problem-focused coping also partially mediated the relationship between sexual prejudice and psychological distress, slightly reducing the negative impact of sexual prejudice. The results suggest that maladaptive coping was the greatest risk factor, out of the ones measured, in the development of psychological distress in the LGB population. The outcomes suggest that clinical psychologists may wish to target their interventions at the development of more adaptive coping strategies, and the reduction of internalised homophobia. They should consider ways to reduce experiences of sexual prejudice by working at a community level to reduce the stigma of homosexuality/bisexuality.