WEBINAR: Conceptual issues and research evidence of resilience in the LGBT community   

The Cultural Framework for Health – New Approaches  

Presenters and Topics

Individual vs. Community Resilience in Minority Stress of Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals, by Ilan H. Meyer, Ph.D., UCLA School of Law and California Center for Population Research

Implications of Childhood Experiences for the Health and Adaptation of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: Sensitivity to Developmental Process in Future Research, by Margaret Rosario, Ph.D., The City University of New York

In these spaces: Perceived neighborhood quality as a protective factor against discrimination for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) adults, by Alisia (Giac-Thao) Tran, Ph.D., Arizona State 

A Novel Method and Program for Addressing Health Disparities among LGBTQ High School Students, by Nicholas Heck, Ph.D., Marquette University in Milwaukee

Meeting Information     

Name: Culture Webinar - June 17 

Date:  Wed

Start Time:  2:00 PM nesday, June 17, 2015

URL: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/meyer/  

Audio Conference Details

Conference Number(s):    1-888-850-4523

Participant Code:   214908

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT AUDIO: You need a phone to hear the presentation. There is no audio through the computer. You need to use the Phone Conference Number provided above.  

Overview

Minority stress theory describes stress processes that stem from stigma and prejudice experienced by lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender individuals (LGBT) and that place LGBT people at risk for adverse mental and physical health outcomes.  Hundreds of research articles since the 1990s have shown that minority stress processes lead to mental and physical health problems.  Most of this research has focused on LGB people but more recently research on transgender populations has articulated minority stress processes and has demonstrated its impact on the health of transgender people. Minority stress, like general stress theory, also suggests that against minority stress, LGBT people mount coping responses.  According to theory, the impact of stress on health is determined by the countervailing effects of pathogenic stress processes and ameliorative resilience processes. In general, resilience research has shown that in various populations, starting early in childhood, individuals mount significant, sometimes heroic, coping efforts in the face of stress and adversity.  But research on ameliorating (or salutogenic—health inducing) processes in LGBT populations has lagged.  This Fall, a special issue of Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, guest edited by Dr. Ilan H. Meyer, comes to fill a gap in the literature on resilience in LGBT people.  In this Webinar we will highlight 3 areas of research on resilience that have not yet received much attention.  The areas covered include individual/psychological level resilience, social/community level resilience, and resilience intervention in sexual and gender minority youth.

Presenters Bios

Ilan H. Meyer, Ph.D., is a Williams Distinguished Senior Scholar for Public Policy at the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA’s School of Law.  

Abstract: Minority stress theory describes stress processes that stem from stigma and prejudice experienced by lesbians, gay men, bisexuals (LGB) and that place LGB at risk for adverse mental and physical health outcomes.  Against this stress, LGB mount coping responses involving both individual/personal and community resources.  Hundreds of research articles have shown that minority stress processes lead to mental and physical health problems. Resilience research has shown that in various populations, starting early in childhood, individuals mount significant, sometimes heroic, coping efforts in the face of stress and adversity.  Researchers have described resilience as personal/individual strengths, including mastery, locus of control, self-esteem, hardiness, and more, which have often been associated with personality characteristics of the person.  But when applied to the area of minority stress, researchers ought to pay attention to community level resilience processes that are, at least in part, independent of individual strengths.  Community-level resilience includes tangible and intangible resources in the LGBT community.  Tangible resources include access to community centers, specialized clinics and support groups, hotlines, information (knowledge), role models, and affirmative laws and policies that stem from community mobilization and advocacy (e.g., same-sex marriage, anti-bullying, ACT-UP).  Intangible resources include reframing of social values and norms and applying minority perspectives on them, such as redefining life goals and measures success. Community-level resilience is achieved through participation with the LGBT community but participation levels may vary.  Even identification with the community, without active participation, can add to resilience against minority stress. Variation in identification and participation in the LGBT community related to race/ethnicity, social class, and age cohort are important to consider.  For a comprehensive understanding of minority stress processes researchers ought to study risk as well as resilience factors because it is the cumulative effect of negative and positive factors that explains health outcomes and, therefore, health disparities.

Margaret Rosario, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at The City University of New York—The City College and Graduate Center. 

Abstract: The empirical literature on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has predominantly focused on sexual-orientation disparities between LGB and heterosexual individuals on health and adaptation, as well as on the role of gay-related or minority stress in the health and adaptation of LGB individuals. Aside from demographic control variables, the initial predictor is a marker of sexual orientation or LGB-related experience (e.g., minority stress). Missing are potential strengths and vulnerabilities that LGB individuals develop over time and bring to bear on their sexual identity development and other LGB-related experiences. Those strengths and vulnerabilities may have profound consequences for the sexual identity development, health, and adaptation of LGB individuals. Here, I focus on one such set of strengths and vulnerabilities derived from attachment. I conclude by emphasizing the importance of attachment in the lives of LGB individuals and the need to identify other developmental processes that may be equally consequential.

Alisia (Giac-Thao) Tran, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling and Counseling Psychology program at Arizona State University’s School of Letters and Sciences.  

Abstract: LGB adults are at elevated risk for experiences of discrimination and related psychological health concerns. Surprisingly, research on the factors that may buffer against discrimination and its deleterious psychological effects in LGB adults has been limited. The researcher examined perceived neighborhood quality as a protective factor in the association between past-year discrimination and psychological distress (i.e., depression/anxiety symptoms) for LGB adults compared to heterosexual adults. Data were drawn from LGB (n = 431; ngay = 200; nlesbian = 102; nbisexual = 129) and heterosexual (n = 7,340) samples surveyed in an urban Midwestern county. Results revealed a significant three-way interaction (Past-year discrimination*Perceived neighborhood quality*Sexual minority status; B = -.30, SE = .07, p < .001). For LGB but not heterosexual respondents, perceived neighborhood quality emerged as a significant moderator of the association between discrimination and psychological distress (B = - .32, SE = .06, p < .001). Specifically, discrimination was not significantly related to psychological distress for LGB respondents perceiving higher neighborhood quality, thus indicating a buffering effect. By contrast, the association between discrimination and psychological distress remained significant for LGB respondents reporting lower perceived neighborhood quality and heterosexual respondents. These patterns of results held when controlling for demographic variables and when examining the gay, lesbian, and bisexual subsamples separately. Perceived neighborhood quality may be a culturally-relevant protective factor for LGB adults facing discrimination. Implications for intervention, policy, and future research are discussed.

Nicholas Heck, Ph.D. (Nick) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Abstract: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) adolescents experience elevated rates of anxiety and depression relative to their heterosexual peers. However, researchers have yet to develop and evaluate interventions to address the unique stressors that give rise to these mental health disparities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a four-session, minority stress-informed, mental health promotion program that was designed to be delivered within the gay-straight alliance (GSA) setting. The program was delivered in one high school and ten GSA members participated in the study. Although attendance at the program sessions was variable, the preliminary results suggest that the participants who did attend the sessions felt that they were enjoyable, helpful, informative, and potentially beneficial for other LGBTQ youth. Components of the program will be discussed, as well as the implications and limitations of this pilot study. 

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