Minderheitenstress und psychische Gesundheit von Lesben, Schwulen und Bisexuellen

Introduction: According to the minority stress model (Meyer, 2003), a lesbian, gay, or bisexual orientation predicts mental health symptoms – mediated through minority stress. The model has been confirmed by a plethora of Western studies. The primary goals of this dissertation are to test in Germany for the first time for mental health differences between lesbians, gay men, and bisexual individuals (LGB) versus heterosexual individuals as well as to examine associations between minority stress and mental health symptoms. Method: Four manuscripts describe the investigation of data from four sexual-minority convenience samples, a heterosexual convenience sample, and a population-based male sample. Data analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 22 and 24. Results: LGB reported more mental health problems than heterosexuals. While a minority sexual identity predicted minority stress (or sexual identity stress), minority stress predicted mental health symptoms. Group-based coping and social support did not moderate these predictions. Furthermore, a small percentage of heterosexuals reported sexual identity stress. Discussion: This dissertation confirms several assumptions regarding the minority stress model and discredited others. I thus propose the use of an adapted minority stress model that future studies should examine. Minority stress should be alleviated around the world to improve mental health in LGB.