Internalized sexual stigma and mental health outcomes for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Asian Americans : The moderating role of guilt and shame
Journal article
Tan, Kian Jin and Anderson, Joel R.. (2024). Internalized sexual stigma and mental health outcomes for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Asian Americans : The moderating role of guilt and shame. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 21(4), p. Article 384. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21040384
Authors | Tan, Kian Jin and Anderson, Joel R. |
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Abstract | The literature unequivocally demonstrates that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals experience disproportionate mental health and social wellbeing impacts. Here, we respond to recent calls for research in the field of sexual minority health to better understand why various overlapping and intersecting identities can further drive health disparities. In this paper, we focus on the specific intersections of ethnicity and sexuality for Asian LGB individuals and the role of internalized stigma in driving poorer mental health outcomes for this group. We recruited 148 LGB Asian participants residing in the United States (Mage = 22.82 years, SD = 4.88) to participate in our online cross-sectional survey in which we collected data on their internalized stigma, levels of guilt and shame about their sexuality, and measures of depression, anxiety, and distress. Contrary to our predictions, there were no bivariate relationships between internalized sexual stigma and any of the mental health outcomes. However, a parallel mediation analysis revealed that guilt, but not shame, mediates the relationship between internalized sexual stigma and all mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, and stress) for LGB Asian American individuals. This research highlights the important of exploring additional variables that may exacerbate of protect against poor mental health for individuals with multiple intersecting identities. |
Keywords | internalized sexual stigma; mental health; shame; guilt; Asian American; lesbian; gay bisexual |
Year | 2024 |
Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
Journal citation | 21 (4), p. Article 384 |
Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI AG) |
ISSN | 1661-7827 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21040384 |
PubMed ID | 38673297 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85191637652 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC11050226 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Page range | 1-13 |
Funder | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 22 Mar 2024 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 17 Mar 2024 |
Deposited | 28 May 2025 |
ARC Funded Research | This output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 |
Grant ID | DE230101636 |
Additional information | © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/91x98/internalized-sexual-stigma-and-mental-health-outcomes-for-gay-lesbian-and-bisexual-asian-americans-the-moderating-role-of-guilt-and-shame
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Publisher's version
OA_Tan_2024_Internalized_sexual_stigma_and_mental_health.pdf | |
License: CC BY 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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