Citation

Bedford CE, Trotter AM, Potter M, Schmidt NB. J. Trauma. Stress 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.22970

PMID

37776211

Abstract

Extant research has shown that sexual violence disproportionately affects lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals, conferring risk for the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and related mental health conditions. However, little research has focused on specific vulnerabilities among LGBTQ+-identified sexual assault (SA) survivors (e.g., minority stress) and their associations with post-SA psychopathology. To address this gap, we examined associations between experiences of minority stress and post-SA psychopathology in a sample of LGBTQ+ individuals who experienced SA (N = 92) and completed a battery of self-report measures.

RESULTS revealed significant differences in internalized stigma, community connectedness, alcohol use, and cannabis use across sexual orientation and gender modality groups, η(p) (2) =.08-11. Additionally, regression analyses indicated that experiences of violence and victimization were significantly associated with higher PTSS, β =.31, p =.020; anxiety, β =.39, p =.003; and alcohol use severity, β =.31, p =.027, over and above other experiences of minority stress and psychopathology risk factors. Internalized stigma was significantly associated with cannabis use severity, β =.34, p =.011. Finally, community connectedness was significantly associated with lower anxiety symptom severity, β = -.42, p =.001. Although longitudinal work is needed, findings indicate that experiences of minority stress may serve as risk or maintenance factors for post-SA psychopathology. These results offer important considerations for future treatment approaches tailored to LGBTQ+ survivors of SA.

Language: en