Woznicki Nathaniel, Arriaga Andrew S, Caporale-Berkowitz Norian A, Parent Mike C
Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education Program. University of Texas at Austin.
Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 2021 Jun;8(2):228-237. doi: 10.1037/sgd0000458. Epub 2020 Dec 17.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) youth continue to be disproportionately at risk for depression. During COVID-19 social distancing, LGBQ youth who live with family may be more consistently exposed to potentially discriminatory family situations, and may receive reduced community and mental health support. However, the Internet offers opportunities to interact with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities by watching videos of, and developing one-way relationships-or -with, LGBTQ media personalities on platforms such as YouTube. The current study explored how parasocial relationships with LGBTQ YouTubers may moderate the links between family support, loneliness, and depression symptoms among LGBQ emerging adults living with their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 183 LGBQ emerging adults (age 18-23) was recruited from the United States in mid-July 2020. Results of a moderated mediation regression indicated that parasocial relationship strength moderated the links between family support and loneliness, and loneliness and depression symptoms. The associations between family support and loneliness, and between loneliness and depression symptoms, were weakened by high parasocial relationship strength. These findings contribute to understanding parasocial relationships' connections to well-being among marginalized groups during a crisis and highlight the potential of online solutions to emerging mental health disparities being experienced by LGBQ youth disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和酷儿（LGBQ）青年患抑郁症的风险仍然过高。在新冠疫情社交隔离期间，与家人同住的LGBQ青年可能更持续地面临潜在的歧视性家庭环境，并且可能获得的社区和心理健康支持减少。然而，互联网提供了通过观看视频以及在YouTube等平台上与LGBTQ媒体人物建立单向关系来与女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、跨性别和酷儿（LGBTQ）群体互动的机会。当前的研究探讨了与LGBTQ油管博主的准社会关系如何调节在新冠疫情期间与父母同住的LGBQ新兴成年人的家庭支持、孤独感和抑郁症状之间的联系。2020年7月中旬从美国招募了183名LGBQ新兴成年人（年龄在18 - 23岁之间）作为样本。一项有调节的中介回归结果表明，准社会关系强度调节了家庭支持与孤独感之间以及孤独感与抑郁症状之间的联系。高准社会关系强度削弱了家庭支持与孤独感之间以及孤独感与抑郁症状之间的关联。这些发现有助于理解危机期间边缘化群体中准社会关系与幸福感的联系，并凸显了在线解决方案对于新冠疫情不成比例影响的LGBQ青年所面临的新出现的心理健康差距的潜力。
