Roxo Luis, Pachankis John, Bränström Richard
Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2025 Mar 11. doi: 10.1007/s00127-025-02866-8.
This study aims to examine sexual orientation differences in mental health services use and unmet mental health care needs, and to explore associated sociodemographic factors in a populational-based sample of Swedish young adults (aged 18-34).
Data from the Pathways to Longitudinally Understanding Stress (PLUS) study were used (2019, N = 2,126, participation rate of 37.8%). We performed logistic regressions to model mental health services use and unmet mental health service needs, followed by a subgroup analysis among those with perceived need for mental health services. We also examined if associations between sociodemographic factors (gender, age, educational level, income, employment status, household composition, urbanicity and country of birth) and these outcomes varied by sexual orientation.
Around one-third (35.0%) of sexual minority individuals had used mental health services the previous year, versus 20.2% of heterosexuals (OR = 1.52, 95%CI = 1.17-1.96, p = 0.002). Unmet needs were more likely among sexual minority individuals (17.6%) than heterosexuals (11.8%, OR = 1.47, 95%CI = 1.09-2.00, p = 0.013), with no significant sexual orientation differences among participants perceiving a need for mental health services. Among those with perceived need for mental health services, it was estimated that 56% of sexual minority males had unmet needs (vs. 37% of heterosexual); no such difference existed among women. Other than gender, there were not significant interactions between sociodemographic factors and sexual orientation.
Sexual minority individuals' higher mental health services use highlights the need for high-quality, culturally sensitive services. Future research should identify reasons for the greater proportion of unmet mental health service needs among sexual minority men.
本研究旨在调查瑞典18至34岁年轻成年人基于人群样本中心理健康服务使用情况和未满足的心理健康护理需求方面的性取向差异，并探索相关的社会人口学因素。
使用了纵向理解压力途径（PLUS）研究的数据（2019年，N = 2126，参与率为37.8%）。我们进行了逻辑回归，以对心理健康服务使用情况和未满足的心理健康服务需求进行建模，随后对那些认为有心理健康服务需求的人群进行亚组分析。我们还研究了社会人口学因素（性别、年龄、教育水平、收入、就业状况、家庭构成、城市化程度和出生国家）与这些结果之间的关联是否因性取向而异。
前一年约三分之一（35.0%）的性少数个体使用过心理健康服务，而异性恋者为20.2%（OR = 1.52，95%CI = 1.17 - 1.96，p = 0.002）。性少数个体中未满足需求的可能性更大（17.6%），高于异性恋者（11.8%，OR = 1.47，95%CI = 1.09 - 2.00，p = 0.013），在认为有心理健康服务需求的参与者中，性取向差异不显著。在那些认为有心理健康服务需求的人群中，估计56%的性少数男性有未满足的需求（异性恋男性为37%）；女性之间不存在这种差异。除性别外，社会人口学因素与性取向之间没有显著的交互作用。
性少数个体更高的心理健康服务使用率凸显了对高质量、具有文化敏感性服务的需求。未来的研究应确定性少数男性中未满足的心理健康服务需求比例更高的原因。
