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Evaluation ViewAttendees 5

Category: LGBTQ+

Symposium 128 - Pressures from Within: Associations between Intraminority Gay Community Stress and Mental Health in Sexual Minority Men

Sunday, November 19, 2023
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM PST
Location: Skagit (603), Level 6
CE: 1.5

Keywords: LGBTQ+, Stigma, Mental Health Disparities
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Pachankis, J. E., Clark, K. A., Burton, C. L., Hughto, J. M. W., Bränström, R., & Keene, D. E. (2020). Sex, status, competition, and exclusion: Intraminority stress from within the gay community and gay and bisexual men’s mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(3), 713.,   Maiolatesi, A. J., Satyanarayana, S., Bränström, R., & Pachankis, J. E. (2023). Development and validation of two abbreviated intraminority gay community stress scales. Assessment, 30(1), 84-101.,  

Burton, C. L., Clark, K. A., & Pachankis, J. E. (2020). Risk from within: Intraminority gay community stress and sexual risk-taking among sexual minority men. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 54(9), 703-712

,   Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological bulletin, 129(5), 674.,  

Sexual minority men (SMM; e.g., gay, bisexual, pansexual) are at increased risk for mental health concerns compared to their heterosexual peers, including elevated rates of psychological distress, anxiety/mood disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, and suicidality (Kamody et al., 2020; Plöderl et al., 2015; Rodriguez-Seijas et al., 2020). Minority stress theory asserts that SMM may be at increased risk due to chronic experiences of discrimination and victimization (Meyer, 2003). While minority stress theory has led to better understanding of SM mental health and the development of LGBTQ+ affirmative interventions, it does not fully account for observed disparities. As such, recent research has led to the development of intraminority gay community stress (IMS) theory (Pachankis et al., 2020), which posits that status-related pressures for men within the SM community may also contribute to stress and ultimately negative mental health outcomes in SMM. Specifically, SMM may perceive the mainstream gay community as overly focused on sex, status, competitiveness, and exclusion of diversity. Given the novelty of IMS theory, limited research has explored how IMS may contribute to disparities across a wide range of mental health concerns, beyond depression and anxiety. The present symposium will fill this gap by presenting novel data on how IMS is uniquely related to psychological distress, suicidality, borderline personality disorder (BPD), and body image/eating disorder symptoms in SMM, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

First, Jacqueline Mitzner will present associations between IMS and psychological distress in white and BIPOC SMM. Second, Dominic Denning will demonstrate how exclusion of diversity is associated with suicide risk in SMM. Third, Eduardo Hernandez Mozo will discuss the association between IMS and BPD symptoms in SMM. Fourth, Dr. Souillard will describe which aspects of IMS are related to body image concerns in SMM. Fifth, Dr. Brown will present longitudinal data examining how specific IMS predicts eating concerns and muscle building in SMM. Finally, Dr. Pachankis will summarize themes and provide insights on future directions and implications for LGBTQ-affirming interventions.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Describe differences in intraminority stressors between sexual minority men of color and white sexual minority men.
  • Describe which intraminority stressors are associated with suicide risk and likelihood of future suicidal behavior in sexual minority men.
  • Discuss how intraminority stress is associated with borderline personality disorder symptoms in sexual minority men.
  • Identify which intraminority stressors are associated with body image concerns in sexual minority men.
  • Describe how intraminority stressors predict eating disorder and muscle-building symptoms in sexual minority men.
  • Goal 1: Explain how intraminority stress may have implications for LGBTQ mental health.
  • Goal 2: Describe which intraminority stressors are associated with mental health outcomes beyond minority stressors in sexual minority men.