Did the Orlando shooting at Pulse Nightclub affect sexual minority mental health? Results and challenges using population-based data

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• Orlando
• mass shootings
• gun violence

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.