The Role of Minority Stress Processes and Intersectionality in Resilience Differences of Bisexual vs Lesbian/Gay Individuals
Abstract
Minority stress research has illustrated how marginalized populations, such as lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, are at greater risk for poorer mental health outcomes as a function of the unique stressors they face related to stigma and discrimination against their identities. Researchers have explored the construct of resilience in how protective factors allow marginalized individuals to successfully cope with this distress. While researchers tend to analyze the LGBT community as a single group, a growing consensus has suggested that bisexual individuals face a unique dual-stigma, which may place them at risk for worse outcomes than even lesbian and gay individuals. In the present study, I sought to contribute to this body of research by examining the ways that differences in minority stress factors between lesbian/gay and bisexual individuals may mediate poorer bisexual outcomes in access to common resilience factors. Additionally, I incorporated an intersectional lens through exploratory analyses on the moderating effects of gender and race. A sample of 229 LGB individuals completed a brief online survey to provide data for these analyses. Utilizing a MANOVA, I found that bisexual individuals exhibited lower levels of coping self-efficacy and perceived family support compared to gay/lesbian individuals, but not significantly different levels of community connectedness. Surprisingly, bisexual individuals reported lower levels of internalized homonegativity and discrimination. Using the PROCESS macros, I found that internalized homonegativity mediated the relationship between sexual orientation and community connectedness, and that discrimination mediated this relationship onto perceived family support. The other mediations were not significant, and there were no significant moderating effects of either gender or race/ethnicity onto these mediations. These results align with some existing research on how bisexual individuals may be disadvantaged compared to lesbian/gay individuals, but conflict with other evidence suggesting that they experience greater levels of minority stress factors. My findings imply that discrepancies in bisexual individuals’ access to common resilience factors may be better explained by other factors not explored in the present study.
Citation
Parrett, Jacob Andrew (2023). The Role of Minority Stress Processes and Intersectionality in Resilience Differences of Bisexual vs Lesbian/Gay Individuals. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /200152.