Abstract
This study investigated religious stress, gay-related stress, sexual identity, and mental health outcomes in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents and emerging adults. The model examined negative LGB identity as a mediator of the relationships between (1) religious stress and mental health, and (2) gay-related stress and mental health. The data indicated that negative LGB identity fully accounted for both relationships. Findings suggest that a negative sense of sexual identity for LGB youth helps explain the links between religious and gay-related stressors and mental health. As LGB youth may have limited control over these stressors, the importance of helping LGB youth maintain a positive LGB identity, despite homonegative messages from others, is discussed. Journal of Research on Adolescence
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 665-677 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Research on Adolescence |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2013 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cultural Studies
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Behavioral Neuroscience