Lawrence Samantha E, Renley Benton M, Eaton Lisa, Csizmadia Annamaria, Watson Ryan J
University of Connecticut, School of Social Work, Hartford, CT.
University of Connecticut, Department of Human Development & Family Sciences, Storrs, CT.
Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 2025 Apr 7. doi: 10.1037/sgd0000827.
Emerging research on sexual and gender diverse youth (SGDY) with disabilities (e.g., developmental or learning disabilities, physical disabilities) has begun to document the social- and health-related disparities that this population faces due to holding multiple marginalized identities. However, not all SGDY know their disability status, and those who are not aware of their disability status represent a unique group who might differently experience mental health challenges. Thus, the current exploratory study examined mental health differences among youth with diverse sexual and gender identities ( = 10,505) across three disability statuses: youth with disabilities, without disabilities, and those who did not know their disability status. Compared to SGDY with and without disabilities, SGDY who did not know their disability status were younger, less able to cope with stress, and less likely to identify as asexual. When considering anxiety and depressive symptoms, SGDY who did not know their disability status reported similar levels of anxiety/depression as their counterparts who reported having a disability, though effect sizes were very small. These exploratory findings have implications for how we measure and understand the experiences of SGDY who are not aware of their disability status; stakeholders should consider continuing to work to remove barriers that may thwart SGDY's ability to be diagnosed and offered support for disabilities.
针对身患残疾（如发育或学习障碍、身体残疾）的性取向和性别多元青年（SGDY）的新研究已开始记录这一群体因拥有多重边缘化身份而面临的社会和健康相关差异。然而，并非所有SGDY都知道自己的残疾状况，而那些不知道自己残疾状况的人代表了一个独特的群体，他们可能在心理健康挑战方面有着不同的经历。因此，当前的探索性研究考察了具有不同性取向和性别身份的青年（n = 10505）在三种残疾状况下的心理健康差异：身患残疾的青年、无残疾的青年以及那些不知道自己残疾状况的青年。与有残疾和无残疾的SGDY相比，不知道自己残疾状况的SGDY更年轻，应对压力的能力更弱，并且较少将自己认定为无性取向者。在考虑焦虑和抑郁症状时，不知道自己残疾状况的SGDY报告的焦虑/抑郁水平与报告身患残疾的同龄人相似，不过效应量非常小。这些探索性发现对于我们如何衡量和理解不知道自己残疾状况的SGDY的经历具有启示意义；利益相关者应考虑继续努力消除可能阻碍SGDY被诊断出残疾并获得相关支持的障碍。
