Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Building C, 80 Meiers Rd, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia.
Soc Sci Med. 2018 Jul;208:190-199. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.05.015. Epub 2018 May 28.
Lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) people experience poorer life outcomes than heterosexual people, with ongoing debates about the aetiology of these differences. Minority stress theory draws attention to the importance of structural stigma, which concerns hostile social environments for sexual minorities that constrain their opportunity structures. Yet few studies have operationalised structural stigma and tested its influence, with most focusing on the US context; even fewer studies examine the underlying mechanisms.
This study expands the available evidence to Australia, which constitutes an interesting case study due to the implementation in late 2017 of a national postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage legislation. It also adds to knowledge by theorising and testing the mediating role of perceived social support in explaining the association between structural stigma and the life outcomes of LGB people.
The analyses leverage geographical variation at the electorate level (n = 150) in the share of 'No' voters in the plebiscite as a measure of structural stigma. This aggregate-level information is merged to individual-level data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, a large, national probability sample (n∽15,000).
Multilevel regression models yield results which are consistent with minority stress theory and previous US scholarship: LGB people report comparatively worse life satisfaction, mental health and overall health in constituencies with higher shares of 'No' voters, controlling for a large set of individual- and aggregate-level confounds. Perceived social support mediates a large portion of the effects of structural stigma on LGB outcomes.
These findings have significant implications for policy and practice, highlighting the need for interventions aimed at reducing community levels of structural stigma and increasing social support to LGB populations.
女同性恋、男同性恋或双性恋（LGB）人群的生活结局不如异性恋人群，关于这些差异的病因一直存在争议。少数群体应激理论使人们关注结构性耻辱的重要性，结构性耻辱是指性少数群体所处的敌对社会环境限制了他们的机会结构。然而，很少有研究对结构性耻辱进行操作化并检验其影响，大多数研究都集中在美国；研究少数群体应激理论和检验其影响的研究更少；甚至更少的研究检验潜在机制。
本研究将现有证据扩展到澳大利亚，由于澳大利亚在 2017 年末对同性婚姻立法进行了全国性的邮寄民意调查，因此这是一个有趣的案例研究。它还通过理论化和检验感知社会支持在解释结构性耻辱与 LGB 人群生活结局之间的关联中的中介作用，增加了知识。
分析利用了在同性婚姻民意调查中“否”投票者比例的选民层面（n=150）的地理差异，以此作为结构性耻辱的衡量标准。将这一总体层面的信息与澳大利亚家庭、收入和劳动力动态调查的个体层面数据进行合并，该调查是一项大型全国概率抽样（n∽15000）。
多层次回归模型的结果与少数群体应激理论和以前的美国研究一致：在控制了大量个体和总体层面混杂因素的情况下，在“否”投票者比例较高的选区，LGB 人群报告的生活满意度、心理健康和整体健康状况相对较差。感知社会支持在结构性耻辱对 LGB 结局的影响中起到了很大的中介作用。
这些发现对政策和实践具有重要意义，强调需要采取干预措施，减少社区层面的结构性耻辱，增加对 LGB 人群的社会支持。
