Intersections of Racial Discrimination and LGB Victimization for Mental Health: A Prospective Study of Sexual Minority Youth of Color

Abstract

Sexual minority youth (i.e., lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth; LGB) of color have multiple minoritized identities, and few studies examine the implications of intersectional minority stressors for their prospective mental health. The current study tested three intersectional hypotheses: the additive hypothesis-racial discrimination and LGB victimization are independently associated with mental health; the multiplicative hypothesis-racial discrimination and LGB victimization interact in to exacerbate their negative association with mental health, and the inuring hypothesis-only racial discrimination or LGB victimization is associated with mental health. Data come from a sample of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth of color (36% Black, 30% Latino, 26% Multi-racial, 4% Native American, and 3% Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) from two U.S. cities, one in the Northeast (77%) and one in the Southwest, who were between ages 15-24 (M = 19) and surveyed four times over three years spaced nine months apart (N = 476; 38% bisexual; 67% free and reduced lunch; and 49% assigned female at birth). The multiplicative hypothesis was supported for depression symptoms, and the additive hypothesis was supported for suicidal ideation. Intersectional minority stressors undermine the mental health of sexual minority youth of color and warrant further investigation.

Keywords: Depression; LGB victimization; Racial discrimination; Sexual orientation; Suicidal ideation.

Figure 1.

Interaction between LGB Victimization and the Intercept of Racial Discrimination Predicting the Intercept of Depressive Symptoms (A) and Interaction between LGB Victimization and the Intercept of Racial Discrimination Predicting the Slope of Depressive Symptoms (B).