Age Moderates the Association of Community Connectedness and Psychological Distress Among LGBTQ+ Youth and Adults

ABSTRACT

High levels of psychological distress present a major public health issue among LGBTQ+ youth and adults; however, research has repeatedly identified community connectedness as an important protective factor for mental health in LGBTQ+ populations. The aim of the present study was to examine whether age moderates the association of community connectedness on psychological distress in a community sample of LGBTQ+ people. In the present exploratory study, we analyzed secondary cross-sectional data from a sample of LGBTQ+ youth and adults (n = 292) in a semi-rural community in the Western United States. Participants completed a measure of community connectedness, the K6, and the PHQ-4. The results of two moderation models showed that the negative association of community connectedness on psychological distress was strongest among youth, weaker among young adults, and nonsignificant among older middle-aged adults and older adults. These results provide further evidence for the potential buffering role of community connectedness on psychological distress for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.

KEYWORDS:

• Community connectedness
• psychological distress
• LGBTQ+ youth
• mental health
• sexual orientation
• gender identity
• aging

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Queer Community Action, Research, Education, and Support (QCARES) research team members for their contributions to the survey design and participant recruitment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. On average, trans and questioning participants had significantly higher K6 scores than cisgender participants (b = 1.58, 95% CI [.33, 2.82]), but the difference in PHQ-4 scores between these groups was not significant (b = .66, 95% CI [−.09, 1.41]). Bisexual, pansexual, asexual, queer, and questioning participants had significantly higher K6 (b = 1.43, 95% CI [.32, 3.55]) and PHQ-4 scores (b = .78, 95% CI [.09, 1.47]) compared to monosexual participants . Overall, these results align with evidence of higher rates of anxiety and depression among trans and non-monosexual people (Borgogna et al., 2019). As an exploratory step to assess the interaction of community connectedness and age on psychological distress within facets of the LGBTQ+ community, we conducted subgroups analyses of our moderation models without covariates within these four groupings of participants (i.e., cisgender; trans and questioning; monosexual; and bisexual, pansexual, asexual, queer, or questioning). For all subgroups analyses, the interaction terms were not significant (i.e., 95% CIs encompassed zero). Considering the small sample sizes of these heterogeneous subgroups, we conclude that a larger sample is necessary to provide a comprehensive assessment of our hypotheses among specific identity groups within LGBTQ+ communities.

2. As a survey programming error, the last word in the eighth item was “minorities” rather than our intended word, “identities.” We note this error for transparency, although we believe that this error likely exerted a negligible effect on participants’ interpretation of this item.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this research was provided by the County of San Luis Obispo through the Mental Health Services Act and in collaboration with the County Behavioral Health Department. Funding was also provided by the Growing Together Field of Interest Fund (GTI), a Fund of The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County.