Gender Studies Programme, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2023 Mar;69(2):483-492. doi: 10.1177/00207640221110435. Epub 2022 Jul 23.
Research has identified that loneliness during COVID-19 is associated with co-residence status, and individuals living alone were more likely to report loneliness. However, it may not apply to sexual minority people as those living with their family may experience different sexual orientation-related stressors.
This study aims to (1) understand the pattern of living arrangement and loneliness among sexual minority people during COVID-19, (2) examine parental acceptance, family conflict and loneliness among sexual minority people with different living arrangements and (3) investigate the association between parental acceptance and loneliness among sexual minority people with different living arrangements during COVID-19.
An online survey with 1,457 Hong Kong sexual minority people was conducted.
Sexual minority people living with their partner(s) were less likely to report loneliness. Concurrently, those living with their parent(s) showed a similar level of loneliness as those who lived alone. Living with parent(s) during COVID-19 does not necessarily alleviate feelings of loneliness among them, which we argue may be due to parental unacceptance of their sexual orientation. Nearly half of the respondents stated that their parent(s) were unaccepting of their sexual orientation and 41.8% of them indicated an increase in family conflict during COVID-19. For those living with their parent(s), parental unacceptance is related to more family conflict during COVID-19, which in turn is associated with higher levels of loneliness.
Not living with unaccepting parents may reduce family conflict and feelings of loneliness, but this has not been the case for many respondents from a city with high population density and cost of living. Social and mental health service providers need to come up with timely and appropriate interventions to address the unique needs faced by sexual minority people during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
研究表明，在 COVID-19 期间，孤独感与共同居住状况有关，独居者更有可能报告孤独感。然而，这可能不适用于性少数群体，因为那些与家人同住的人可能会经历不同的与性取向相关的压力源。
本研究旨在：(1)了解 COVID-19 期间性少数群体的居住安排和孤独感模式；(2)研究不同居住安排的性少数群体的父母接纳度、家庭冲突和孤独感；(3)调查 COVID-19 期间不同居住安排的性少数群体中父母接纳度与孤独感之间的关系。
对 1457 名香港性少数群体进行了在线调查。
与伴侣同住的性少数群体报告孤独感的可能性较小。同时，与父母同住的人与独居者的孤独感水平相似。在 COVID-19 期间与父母同住并不一定能减轻他们的孤独感，我们认为这可能是因为父母不接受他们的性取向。近一半的受访者表示父母不接受他们的性取向，其中 41.8%的人表示在 COVID-19 期间家庭冲突增加。对于与父母同住的人来说，父母的不接纳与 COVID-19 期间更多的家庭冲突有关，而家庭冲突又与更高的孤独感有关。
不与不接纳父母同住可能会减少家庭冲突和孤独感，但对于许多来自人口密度和生活成本高的城市的受访者来说并非如此。社会和心理健康服务提供者需要及时提出适当的干预措施，以满足性少数群体在 COVID-19 期间和之后的独特需求。
