Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jan 20:26:1487.
doi: 10.4102/hsag.v26i0.1487. eCollection 2021.

Mental health challenges of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people: An integrated literature review

Miriam M Moagi  1 , Anna E van Der Wath  1 , Priscilla M Jiyane  1 , Richard S Rikhotso  1
Affiliations
Review

Mental health challenges of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people: An integrated literature review

Miriam M Moagi et al. Health SA. .

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals are often stigmatised and discriminated against. This population is expected to experience poorer mental health outcomes compared with heterosexual and cis-gendered people, a phenomenon healthcare providers need to take note of and act upon. This study aimed to explore and describe the mental health challenges of LGBT people. An integrative literature search was conducted. The following electronic databases were searched: Academic Search Premier, Africa-Wide Information, Business Source Premier, eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), E-Journals, ERIC, Family & Society Studies Worldwide, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, Humanities Source, MasterFILE Premier, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, Social Work Abstracts, TOC Premier, WorldCat.org, Taylor and Francis Journals, Biomed Central and Wiley Online Library. An internet search was also carried out using Google and Google Scholar databases. The following search terms were identified: 'LGBT' OR 'LGBT community' AND 'mental health challenges/problems' OR 'mental/psychiatric illness'. The reviewed literature comprised research conducted globally between 2010 and 2019. From the 2545 titles, 345 abstracts were examined, resulting in 57 articles. The 57 full-text articles were examined to verify whether they addressed the scope of the literature review, of them, 21 addressed the mental health challenges of LGBT people. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people experience the following mental health challenges: emotional distress, stigmatisation, victimisation, discrimination and barriers to accessing healthcare services. The results showed that although LGBT has been legalised in many countries, LGBT communities still experience significant mental health challenges. Healthcare providers are in a position to address challenges related to social and healthcare structures and act as advocates in order to promote the mental health of LGBT individuals.

Keywords: LGBT; discrimination; mental health disparities; stigmatisation; victimisation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared no competing interests exist.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
PRISMA flow diagram describing the inclusion process of the integrative literature review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychological Association , 2008, Answers to your questions: For a better understanding of sexual orientation and homosexuality, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, viewed 01 December 2018, from www.apa.org/topics/sorientation.pdf.
    1. Bidell, M.P, 2016, ‘Treating transgressors: Mental health providers and LGBT issues’, Journal of Psychological Therapies 1(1), 7–10.
    1. Blosnich, J.R. & Andersen, J.P, 2015, ‘Thursday’s child: The role of adverse childhood experiences in explaining mental health disparities among lesbians, gay and bisexual US adults’, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 50(2), 335–338. 10.1007/s00127-014-0955-4 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cochran, S.D. & Mays, V.M, 2007, ‘Physical health complaints among lesbians, gay men, and bisexual and homosexually experienced heterosexual individuals: Results from the California Quality of Life Survey’, American Journal of Public Health 97(11), 2048–2055. 10.2105/AJPH.2006.087254 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , 1996, Act 108 of 1996, Government Gazette, South Africa.

LinkOut - more resources