Lea Toby, de Wit John, Reynolds Robert
Centre for Social Research in Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia,
Arch Sex Behav. 2014 Nov;43(8):1571-8. doi: 10.1007/s10508-014-0266-6. Epub 2014 Feb 27.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other same-sex attracted young people have been shown to be at a higher risk of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, suicidality, and substance abuse, compared to their heterosexual peers. Homophobic prejudice and stigma are often thought to underlie these disparities. In this study, the relationship between such experiences of social derogation and mental health and substance use in same-sex attracted young people was examined using Meyer's minority stress theory. An online survey recruited 254 young women and 318 young men who identified as same-sex attracted, were aged 18-25 years, and lived in Sydney, Australia. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that internalized homophobia, perceived stigma, and experienced homophobic physical abuse were associated with higher levels of psychological distress and self-reported suicidal thoughts in the previous month. Furthermore, perceived stigma and homophobic physical abuse were associated with reporting a lifetime suicide attempt. The association between minority stress and substance use was inconsistent. While, as expected, higher levels of perceived stigma were associated with club drug dependence, there was an inverse association between internalized homophobia and club drug use, and between perceived stigma and hazardous alcohol use. The findings of this study provide support for the minority stress theory proposition that chronic social stress due to sexual orientation is associated with poorer mental health. The high rates of mental health and substance use problems in the current study suggest that same-sex attracted young people should continue to be a priority population for mental health and substance use intervention and prevention.
与异性恋同龄人相比，女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋及其他性取向为同性吸引的年轻人出现心理健康问题的风险更高，这些问题包括抑郁、焦虑、自杀倾向和药物滥用。恐同偏见和污名往往被认为是造成这些差异的原因。在本研究中，运用迈耶的少数群体压力理论，考察了这种社会贬损经历与性取向为同性吸引的年轻人的心理健康及药物使用之间的关系。一项在线调查招募了254名年轻女性和318名年轻男性，他们均自认为性取向为同性吸引，年龄在18至25岁之间，居住在澳大利亚悉尼。多变量逻辑回归分析表明，内化的恐同心理、感知到的污名以及遭受的恐同身体虐待与前一个月更高水平的心理困扰和自我报告的自杀念头相关。此外，感知到的污名和恐同身体虐待与报告有过终身自杀未遂经历相关。少数群体压力与药物使用之间的关联并不一致。正如预期的那样，更高水平的感知到的污名与俱乐部药物依赖相关，但内化的恐同心理与俱乐部药物使用之间、感知到的污名与危险饮酒之间存在负相关。本研究结果为少数群体压力理论的观点提供了支持，即由于性取向导致的长期社会压力与较差的心理健康相关。本研究中较高的心理健康和药物使用问题发生率表明，性取向为同性吸引的年轻人应继续作为心理健康和药物使用干预及预防的重点人群。
