Category: LGBQT+
Shelby Scott, Ph.D.
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Kevin Narine, PhD
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student
William James College
Newton, Massachusetts
Skyler Jackson, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Yale School of Public Health
Brooklyn, New York
Shelby Scott, Ph.D.
University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
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Jenny Shen, M.A.
Graduate Student
Stony Brook University
Rego Park, New York
Roberto Rentería, Ph.D.
Doctoral Candidate
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Denver, Colorado
Shari Brown, M.A.
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii
Sarah Whitton, Ph.D.
Professor
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on the physical and mental health on communities of color (e.g., anti-Asian racism, higher rates of severe disease and death among African American and Latinx communities) and LGBTQ+ individuals (e.g., community disconnection). Further, LGBTQ+ people of color (POC) experience unique stressors related to their multiple marginalized identities such as racism based on one’s ethnoracial identity, heterosexism and/or transphobia based on one’s sexual and gender minority (SGM) identities, and intersectional stressors based at the unique crossroads of these and other marginalized identities (e.g., heterosexist racism and sexism for SGM women of color). Marginalization can also be experienced across various levels of the ecological model, including interpersonal acts of discrimination from family and friends, community-based stigma (e.g., heterosexism within one’s ethnoracial community), and structural barriers to healthcare. Collectively, these ongoing negative experiences contribute to mental and physical health disparities across LGBTQ+ POC. However, research in this area is still nascent, and there is much work to be done to understand the nuanced forms and prevalence of intersectional stress for LGBTQ+ POC. Further, scarce research has assessed potential mechanisms to explain the association between intersectional stress and worse health, or relatedly, moderators that may buffer against the effects of intersectional stress.
This symposium brings together research presentations that focus on the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ POC from numerous subgroups (e.g., SGM women of color, SGM Latinx populations) and across various settings (e.g., the U.S. healthcare system, community-based heterosexism). First, Presenter 1 will present qualitative findings from LGBTQ+ POC focus groups that further define intersectional minority stress during mental health treatment. Presenter 2 will then present findings on the prevalence of healthcare discrimination among SGM women of color and the role of delayed care as a potential mechanism that links discriminatory healthcare experiences and worse health in this population. Next, Presenter 3 will present research on the role of depression as a potential mediating factor between racist/heterosexist experiences and worse physical health among Latinx SGM individuals. Presenter 4 will then present research on the moderating effects of positive ethnic identity and intersectional identity on the association between discrimination and depression in LGBTQ+ POC. Finally, Presenter 5 will present research from a longitudinal study of SGM-AFAB (assigned female at birth) individuals, which suggests racial disparities in some negative outcomes (e.g. intimate partner violence) but not others (e.g., mental health). Findings regarding the unique and interacting effects of racial, sexual minority, and intersectional stigma on SGM-AFAB health outcomes highlight both the accumulating stressors faced by SGM color as well as their resilience. Finally, our Discussant, an expert on LGBTQ+ POC mental health, will synthesize the presentations and discuss future directions to address and improve physical and mental health among LGBTQ+ POC.
Presenter: Shelby B. Scott, Ph.D. – University of Texas at San Antonio
Co-author: Karie A. Gaska, Ph.D., MSW – Ross University School of Medicine
Co-author: Kayla Knopp, Ph.D. – VA San Diego Health Care System
Co-author: Quyen A. Do, M.Ed. – University of Texas at San Antonio
Co-author: Joyce P. Yang, Ph.D. – University of San Francisco
Presenter: Jenny Shen, M.A. – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Sara Medina-Devilliers, PhD – Boston Children’s Hospital
Co-author: Ellora Vilkin, M.A. – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Howard Huang, M.A. – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Mallory Dobias, M.A. – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Sakura Ito, BS – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Laura Jans, Undergraduate Student – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Eve Rosenfeld, Ph.D. – VA Palo Alto Health Care System/Stanford
Co-author: Dina Vivian, PhD – Stony Brook University, L. Krasner Psychological Center
Co-author: Adam Gonzalez, PhD – Stony Brook University, Mind-Body Clinical Research Center
Presenter: Roberto Rentería, Ph.D. – Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Co-author: Cristalis Capielo Rosario, PhD – Arizona state University
Presenter: Shari A. Brown, M.A. – University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Co-author: Frank Floyd, PhD – University of Hawaii at Manoa
Presenter: Sarah Whitton, Ph.D. – University of Cincinnati
Co-author: Gregory Swann, M.A. – Northwestern Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing
Co-author: Michael E. Newcomb, Ph.D. – Northwestern University
