Mental Health Challenges Affecting LGBTQ+ Individuals and Communities

Dear Colleagues,

LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to experience poor mental health. As a minority, they are exposed to additional stressors on top of general stressors that affect everyone. Meyer [1] categorises these additional stressors into distal and proximal stressors. Distal stressors are external stressors and include bullying, harassment and prejudice. Proximal stressors are internal stressors and include internalised homophobia, self-stigma and fear of a negative reaction. According to Meyer [1], these stressors are likely to lead to poor mental health, although individuals can mitigate the effects of these stressors by forming social networks. In addition, the risks that LGBTQ+ individuals are exposed to in online digital worlds can increase the likelihood of poor mental health, and research shows that the transgender population are more at risk than those who are lesbian and gay [2]; LGBTQ+ individuals can experience homelessness and bullying in schools, and during adulthood are also at risk of experiencing loneliness and suffering the effects of trauma. Intersectional identities also pose particular risks. For example, research demonstrates that disabled LGBTQ+ young people experience multiple forms of oppression [3]. LGBTQ+ students in higher education can face particular challenges, but research also demonstrates that they can be powerful agents of change [4]. This Special Issue will take a multi-disciplinary approach, and a range of creative, qualitative research methods will be used to give a voice to the marginalised. It will explore the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities across their lifespans.

References

1. Meyer, I.H. Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Bull. 2003, 129, 674–697, doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674.
2. Bradlow, J.; Bartram, F.; Guasp, A.; Jadva, V. School Report: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans Young People in Britain’s Schools in 2017, Stonewall, London, 2017. Available Online: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/the_school_report_2017.pdf (accessed on 2 June 2023)
3. Toft, A.; Franklin, A. Young Disabled and LGBT+: Voices, Identities and Intersections, 1st ed.; Routledge: London, UK, 2020.
4. Glazzard, J.; Jindal-Snape, D.; Stones, S. Transitions Into, and Through, Higher Education: The Lived Experiences of Students Who Identify as LGBTQ+. Educ. 2020, 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00081.

Prof. Dr. Jonathan Glazzard
Dr. Mark Vicars
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• LGBTQ+
• mental health
• trauma
• wellbeing