Social and psychological well-being in lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals: the effects of race, gender, age, and sexual identity.

Using a social stress perspective, the authors studied the mental health effects of added burden related to socially disadvantaged status (being African American or Latino, female, young, and identifying as bisexual vs. gay or lesbian) in a community sample of 396 self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults. Mental health outcomes were social and psychological well-being contrasted with depressive symptoms. When mental health deficiencies by disadvantaged social status were detected, the authors examined whether LGB community connectedness and positive sexual identity valence played a mediating role, reducing the social status disparity in outcome. The authors found different patterns when looking at social versus psychological well-being and positive versus negative mental health outcomes. Bisexuality and young age, but not gender and racial/ethnic minority status, were associated with decreased social well-being. In bisexuals, this relationship was mediated by community connectedness and sexual identity valence. Although no differences in social or psychological well-being were found by gender, female gender was associated with depressed mood. The authors conclude that there is limited support for an additive stress model.

A Qualitative Approach to the Intersection of Sexual, Ethnic, and Gender Identities.

In this paper we report on a new qualitative instrument designed to study the intersection of identities related to sexuality and race/ethnicity, and how people who hold those identities interact with social contexts. Researchers often resort to using separate measures to assess race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other target identities. But this approach can miss elements of a self-system that stem from the intersection of identities, the interactions between identities and social contexts, related shifts in identity over time, and related changes in the prominence and valence of identities. Using a small sub-sample, we demonstrate how our instrument can help researchers overcome these limitations. Our instrument was also designed for economy in administration and analysis, so that it could be used as a qualitative complement in large survey research.

Depressive symptomatology among HIV-positive women in the era of HAART: a stress and coping model.

OBJECTIVE: An enhanced stress and coping model was used to explain depression among HIV-positive women in healthcare and community settings where highly active anti-retroviral treatment (HAART) was commonplace. METHOD: HIV-infected women in four cities (N=978) were assessed, cross-sectionally, for mental and physical health, stress, social support, and other background factors. RESULTS: Self-reported level of depressive symptomatology was high. Number of physical symptoms, illness intrusiveness, and perceived stress were positively associated with depressed mood, while coping self-efficacy and social support were negatively associated. Stress mediated the effect of health status on depression and coping self-efficacy mediated the effect of psychosocial resources on depression. Our enhanced stress and coping model accounted for 52% of variance in depressive symtpomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions focused on improving coping self-efficacy, bolstering social supports, and decreasing stress in the lives of HIV-positive women may help to reduce the negative effects of HIV disease on mood.

Toward improved interpretation and theory building of African American male sexualities.

This paper examined five challenges to clear understanding of African American male sexualities: incorrect assumptions of African American homogeneity; an underemphasis on developmental change, the contexts and the meanings of sexual behaviors; and a lack of compelling theoretical grounding for African American sexualities. Critical elements for effective theorizing and research about African American sexualities (i.e. multiple levels of analysis, examination of phenomenological meaning of sexuality, measurement of dynamic/developmental change) were outlined and candidate theories within sexual science (social exchange theories, symbolic interactionism, sexual scripting theory) were analyzed in light of these elements. It is suggested that a re-orientation of sex research about African American men using these elements will result in improved understanding of African American sexualities in multiple contexts.