3 - (SYM 17) Minority Stress, Repetitive Negative Thinking, and Internalizing Symptoms Among Sexual Minorities: Does Cognitive Content Matter?

Background: The psychological mediation framework (Hatzenbuehler, 2009) posits that cognitive processes, such as repetitive negative thinking (RNT), mediate the relationship between minority stressors and mental health symptoms in sexual minorities. It remains unclear, however, whether the specific content of the RNT plays a substantive role in this relationship.

Methods: To address this gap, the current study explored the indirect effects of different types of RNT (i.e., content-independent RNT, depressive rumination, and sexual orientation rumination) in the relationship between minority stress and internalizing symptoms in sexual minorities. A sample of 205 sexual minority adults recruited from sexual minority-focused social media groups was administered questionnaires measuring minority stress, RNT, and internalizing symptoms. Structural equation modeling was used to examine indirect effects of minority stress on internalizing symptoms through RNT type.

Results: Significant indirect effects between minority stress and internalizing symptoms were observed for content-independent RNT and depressive rumination, but no significant indirect effects were observed for sexual orientation rumination.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that the valence and affective content of RNT may factor more than sexual orientation-related content in the relationship between minority stress and mental health outcomes in sexual minority populations. Additional research utilizing longitudinal designs and more diverse samples is needed to establish causality and to determine whether the observed findings generalize to other populations that experience minority stress (e.g., transgender and gender-diverse populations). Nevertheless, the present research highlights the importance of focusing on general psychological processes and mechanisms like RNT in the treatment of internalizing disorders in sexual minority clients.