Assistant Professor Arizona state University Tempe, Arizona
Background: Latinx sexual minority adults are subjected to intersectional discrimination (i.e., experiences racism within the LGBTQ+ and heterosexism in one’s racial/ethnic community), which has been associated with worse mental health. Still, little research has examined how coping mechanisms may mediate the paths between intersectional discrimination with mental health outcomes among Latinx sexual minority communities. This study examined the links between intersectional discrimination, coping self-efficacy, and mental health among Latinx sexual minority adults.
Methods: The current study recruited a cross-sectional sample of Latinx sexual minority adults living in the U.S., who were invited to complete a web-based survey. The final sample (N = 320) completed measures of intersectional discrimination (racism in LGBTQ community and heterosexism in one's racial/ethnic community), coping self-efficacy (problem-solving, emotional, social) and mental health outcomes (depression and anxiety). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the total, direct, and indirect effects (via coping self-efficacy factors) between discrimination and mental health outcomes (i.e., depression and anxiety).
Results: Findings supported that greater intersectional discrimination predicted both worse depression and anxiety. The indirect effects between intersectional discrimination with depression were significant for emotional and social coping self-efficacy. That is, greater intersectional discrimination predicted lower emotional and social coping self-efficacy, which in turn was associated with worse depression. Only emotional coping self-efficacy mediated the link between intersectional discrimination and anxiety.
Conclusion: Results from this study support the negative effects of intersectional discrimination on mental health among Latinx sexual minority adults. These findings also showed that coping strategies are relevant mediators. Emotional coping self-efficacy was a significant mediator in the association between discrimination and mental health outcomes. This may suggest that experiences of intersectional discrimination may deplete coping self-efficacy mechanisms, which may then contribute to worse mental health. Longitudinal research is needed to assess temporal directionality of these associations.