How sexuality connects to mental health

[T]here is general agreement on the observation at the heart of Part Two: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) subpopulations are at higher risk, compared to the general population, of numerous mental health problems.

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Compiling the risk ratios found in [research] papers, the authors estimated that lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals had a 2.47 times higher lifetime risk than heterosexuals for suicide attempts,…about twice as likely to experience depression over a twelve-month period, and approximately 1.5 times as likely to experience anxiety disorders.

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Despite the limits of the scientific understanding[,]…much of the public effort to ameliorate these problems is motivated by…the social stress model[, which]…posits that discrimination, stigmatization, and other similar stresses contribute to poor mental health outcomes among sexual minorities.

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There is evidence linking some forms of mistreatment, stigmatization, and discrimination to some of the poor mental health outcomes experienced by non-heterosexuals, but it is far from clear that these factors account for all of the disparities between the heterosexual and non-heterosexual populations.

This is part two of a four-part series.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Part Two: Sexuality, Mental Health Outcomes, and Social Stress