In Study 1, results showed that depressive symptoms decreased similarly across sexual orientation groups during the course of treatment.
Full Answer
How does sexual minority adolescence affect depression and mental health?
Mediation analyses indicated that sexual minority adolescents reported lower family satisfaction, greater cyberbullying victimization, and increased likelihood of unmet medical needs, all of which were associated with higher depressive symptoms.
Do minorities experience anxiety and depression differently?
People who identify as sexual (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) or gender (i.e., transgender, genderqueer, non-binary) minorities have similar symptoms of anxiety and depression as heterosexual and cisgender (non-transgender) individuals.
Do sexual orientation disparities in depression persist among adolescents?
In a recent cohort of US adolescents, sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms were observable among 11th-graders and persisted into young adulthood within a 5-year time frame.
Is sexual orientation associated with depressive symptoms in the 11th grade?
Individually, sexual orientation was associated with all the mediators in the expected direction except for peer support, whereas all mediators were associated with depressive symptoms in the 11th grade.
Methods
The NEXT Generation Health Study (NEXT) is an ongoing 7-year longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of US adolescents. By using a 3-stage stratified design, a diverse sample of 2785 adolescents enrolled in US high schools from 22 states was obtained and followed annually since the 2009–2010 year.
Results
Descriptive statistics for the 4 mediators and depressive symptoms across waves are presented in Table 2.
Discussion
In a recent cohort of US adolescents, sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms were observable among 11th-graders and persisted into young adulthood within a 5-year time frame.
Conclusions
Sexual orientation disparities in depressive symptoms persisted from late adolescence into young adulthood and were partially explained by low family satisfaction, cyberbullying victimization, and unmet medical needs.
Competing Interests
POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.
How many studies have been published since 1999?
All 23 studies have been published since 1999 and almost half of the papers were published after 2010. The studies were from eight countries, with 14 studies from the United States, and 2 studies each from the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The remaining studies were from Europe, Asia and Canada.
Do sexual minorities have depressive symptoms?
Research has suggested that sexual minority young people are more likely to have depressive symptoms or depressive disorder, but to date most studies in the field have relied on convenience-based samples. This study overcomes this limitation by systematically reviewing the literature from population-based studies and conducting a meta-analysis ...
What is a sexual minority?
Sexual minority individuals are those people whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual and encompasses lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, as well as many other orientations, including queer, pansexual, and asexual.
Do gender minority people have depression?
Although there has been less research conducted on the mental health of gender minority individuals, the published studies that do exist also point to elevated rates of depression as well as suicidality, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and trauma exposure.
Can a transgender person have anxiety?
People who identify as sexual (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) or gender (i.e., transgender, genderqueer, non-binary) minorities have similar symptoms of anxiety and depression as heterosexual and cisgender (non-transgender) individuals. Although the symptom presentation may be similar, sexual and gender minority individuals generally ...