715
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Mental health and general psychological processes among asexual, bisexual, and gay/lesbian college students in the United States

&
Pages 1041-1053 | Received 25 Feb 2021, Accepted 03 Sep 2021, Published online: 12 Sep 2021
 

ABSTRACT

Sexual minorities are at greater risk for mental health difficulties than their heterosexual peers, and bisexual and asexual individuals may be at particularly heightened risk. However, the majority of the literature has failed to examine nuanced differences within the sexual minority community. We examined depression, anxiety and happiness as indicators of mental health, and belonging and coping as general psychological processes in 2,424 female and male college students who identified as gay/lesbian, asexual, or bisexual. The findings revealed a significant main effect for sexual orientation such that bisexual individuals scored significantly higher on depression and lower on happiness than asexual and gay/lesbian individuals. Gay/lesbian and bisexual individuals scored significantly higher on anxiety and lower on coping than asexual individuals. Asexual individuals reported greater belonging than bisexual individuals, and gay/lesbian individuals scored in between those groups. The results also revealed a significant main effect for gender such that women had higher levels of depression and anxiety, and lower levels of happiness and coping than men. Finally, gender did not moderate the relationship between sexual orientation and the outcome variables. These findings highlight that the sexual minority community is not a monolithic group in terms of mental health or general psychological processes.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Miriam Liss

Miriam Liss, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Mary Washington, as well as a Safe Zone trainer. She is a clinical psychologist who has conducted research on feminism, body image and objectification, parenting, division of labor, and work-family balance.

Laura C. Wilson

Laura C. Wilson, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Mary Washington, as well as the Director of Safe Zone. Her expertise focuses on post-trauma functioning. Her research interests include the sociocultural influences on and psychosocial outcomes among survivors of sexual violence, indicators of PTSD following mass trauma, and the compounding impact of minority stress on particular populations (e.g., LGBTQ+ community).

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.