SOCIAL SUPPORT MITIGATES THE EFFECT OF STRESS ON SEXUAL AND GENDER MINORITY PEOPLE'S MENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people face pre-existing inequalities that may have been exacerbated by the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Canadian sexual minorities are twice as likely to live alone compared to heterosexual people and are more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, self-harm, and substance abuse. Despite these vulnerabilities, several studies suggest that social support and community solidarity can mitigate the effect of stress on SGM mental health. Using a cross-sectional online survey, our team examined SGM and cisgender heterosexual mental health and social support during the first four months of the COVID-19 crisis in Quebec, Canada. A total of 2900 adults (n = 304 SGM people, n = 2596 cisgender heterosexual people) completed questionnaires measuring perceived social support, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and loneliness. A series of one-way ANOVAs revealed that SGM people presented worse health outcomes than cisgender heterosexual people on all questionnaires (p < .001). Post hoc analyses also showed that some particularly marginalised SGM sub-groups, including bisexual and asexual people, showed the worst health outcomes. Moderation analyses later revealed that social support moderated the relationship between perceived stress and depressive symptoms among both SGM and cisgender heterosexual people - but this effect was four times stronger among SGM people (ΔR2 = .041;p < .001) than among cisgender heterosexual people (ΔR2 = .010;p < .001). These results suggest fostering social connectedness among SGM people may be especially beneficial in buffering against distress in the face of a crisis. To better understand how SGM mental health is evolving during this pandemic, our team is currently conducting a follow-up longitudinal study examining mental health, trauma, coping strategies and resilience among SGM and cisgender heterosexual adults before and after vaccination efforts started in Canada (to date, N = 6083). Preliminary results from time 1 (July 2020) and 2 (Fall 2021) are being treated and will also be presented.