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Abstract
Purpose of the study
Forty-nine people were killed in the Orlando shooting at Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016. The objective of this study was to examine the association between the Orlando shooting and sexual minority mental health.
Materials and methods
We used data from the 2013–2018 National Health Interview Survey and a difference-in-differences approach to compare changes in severe psychological distress (SPD) between sexual minorities and their heterosexual peers.
Results
Compared to heterosexual men, the Orlando shooting was associated with a 25.6 percentage point (p < 0.05) increase in SPD for sexual minority men in June 2016. We did not observe a similar pattern of heightened SPD for sexual minority women following the Orlando shooting.
Conclusion
This study suggests that the Orlando shooting was detrimental to the mental health of sexual minority men.
Disclosure statement
The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose.
Data availability
Data for this study were downloaded using the publicly available, harmonized versions of the National Health Interview Surveys at IPUMS of the University of Minnesota. Data available here: https://healthsurveys.ipums.org
Ethics Statement
None.
Funding
There is no funding to declare for this study.