Bariola Emily, Lyons Anthony, Leonard William
Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Victoria.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2016 Dec;40(6):506-512. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12539. Epub 2016 Jul 3.
Lesbians and gay men are exposed to unique minority stressors. We examined the health implications of one type of distal minority stressor (victimisation) and one type of proximal minority stressor (sexual identity concealment due to anticipated stigma) among lesbians and gay men. Gender-specific health implications were assessed.
Data were collected via an online survey involving an Australian sample of 1,470 gay men and 1,264 lesbians. Survey questions assessed demographics, experiences of different forms of sexual identity-related victimisation and sexual identity concealment in a variety of contexts. Health outcomes included self-reported general health, illicit drug use, frequency of alcohol consumption, smoking status, and weight status.
Gay men reported higher rates of victimisation and identity concealment than lesbians. Controlling for demographic differences, experiences of victimisation were associated with poorer self-rated health, illicit drug use, and smoking among both gay men and lesbians. In contrast, identity concealment was linked with poorer health outcomes among lesbians only.
Our findings offer new insights into the potential antecedents of the health inequalities that have previously been reported for these populations.
男同性恋者和女同性恋者面临独特的少数群体压力源。我们研究了一种远端少数群体压力源（受侵害）和一种近端少数群体压力源（因预期的耻辱感而隐瞒性取向）对男同性恋者和女同性恋者健康的影响。评估了特定性别的健康影响。
通过在线调查收集数据，样本来自1470名澳大利亚男同性恋者和1264名女同性恋者。调查问题评估了人口统计学特征、在各种情况下与性取向相关的不同形式受侵害经历以及性取向隐瞒情况。健康结果包括自我报告的总体健康状况、非法药物使用情况、饮酒频率、吸烟状况和体重状况。
男同性恋者报告的受侵害率和身份隐瞒率高于女同性恋者。在控制人口统计学差异后，受侵害经历与男同性恋者和女同性恋者较差的自我健康评价、非法药物使用和吸烟有关。相比之下，身份隐瞒仅与女同性恋者较差的健康结果有关。
我们的研究结果为先前报道的这些人群健康不平等的潜在成因提供了新的见解。
