Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth and adults suffer disparities in health outcomes compared with their heterosexual peers. Minority stress theory suggests that because of prejudice and stigma in the social environment, LGB people experience excess stress that leads to poor health outcomes and health disparities. Because of its focus on the social environment, minority stress theory leads us to predict that the character of stress processes affecting LGBs shift along with improvement in the social environment. Similarly shifting are notions of LGB identity, connection with the community, and the types of social and health services LGB people seek. If we are to achieve the U.S. Public Health Services' goal of reducing health disparities related to sexual orientation, we need to understand the impact of changes in identity and minority stress on LGB health and, using this knowledge, inform public health interventions across the lifespan. To gain this knowledge, we propose a longitudinal study using a probability sample of diverse LGBs representative of LGBs in the U.S. population. We seek to compare 3 cohorts of LGB individuals-aged 18 - 25, 34 - 42, and 48 - 55 years old-who are distinct in that they were exposed to significantly different social environments when they came of age. We are interested in ways that identity and minority stress predict health across the cohorts. We will use a mixed method design that allows us to gain knowledge from both qualitative and survey data. We use an innovative 2-stage procedure to recruit a sample of 676 LGB individuals representative of U.S. Black, Latino, and White LGB populations. We assess respondents baseline and annually for 3 years thereafter. In a qualitative study, we use a narrative life history to assess a diverse group of Black, Latino, White, and Asian LGB individuals in urban and rural regions of New York, California, and Arizona. We hypothesize that: 1. Despite readily acknowledging an LGB identity and coming out at a younger age than did older cohorts, the younger cohorts differ from older cohorts in that their LGB identity is less central, they are less strongly identified with the LGB community, and have different meanings of sexual orientation and identity. 2. Compared with older, the younger cohort experience less minority stress related to their own acceptance of a gay identity and coming out, but more external stress, including prejudice-related stressful life events, antigay violence, and everyday forms of discrimination. 3. Members of younger LGB cohorts utilize fewer LGB-identified social and health services than do members of older LGB cohorts. 4. In structural equations, the minority stress model functions equally well in predicting health outcomes in the younger and older cohorts, but patterns of stress, resilience, and health outcomes differ among the cohorts in accordance with findings in Aims 1 and 2.

Public Health Relevance

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth continue to suffer disparities in health outcomes compared with their heterosexual peers. Social changes have significantly altered the developmental trajectories of today's LGB youth, requiring that we reexamine our knowledge of stress and health in this population. This knowledge is required for improving provision of health services interventions and achieving PHS goal of reducing health disparities related to sexual orientation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01HD078526-02S1
Application #
9101763
Study Section
Program Officer
Newcomer, Susan
Project Start
2015-08-20
Project End
2019-05-31
Budget Start
2015-08-20
Budget End
2016-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$100,000
Indirect Cost
$35,065
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Hammack, Phillip L; Meyer, Ilan H; Krueger, Evan A et al. (2018) HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use, familiarity, and attitudes among gay and bisexual men in the United States: A national probability sample of three birth cohorts. PLoS One 13:e0202806
Hammack, Phillip L; Frost, David M; Meyer, Ilan H et al. (2018) Gay Men's Health and Identity: Social Change and the Life Course. Arch Sex Behav 47:59-74
Meyer, Ilan H; Brown, Taylor N T; Herman, Jody L et al. (2017) Demographic Characteristics and Health Status of Transgender Adults in Select US Regions: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2014. Am J Public Health 107:582-589
Wilson, Bianca D M; Jordan, Sid P; Meyer, Ilan H et al. (2017) Disproportionality and Disparities among Sexual Minority Youth in Custody. J Youth Adolesc 46:1547-1561
Martos, Alexander J; Wilson, Patrick A; Meyer, Ilan H (2017) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health services in the United States: Origins, evolution, and contemporary landscape. PLoS One 12:e0180544
Meyer, Ilan H (2016) The Elusive Promise of LGBT Equality. Am J Public Health 106:1356-8
Meyer, Ilan H (2016) Does an improved social environment for sexual and gender minorities have implications for a new minority stress research agenda? Psychol Sex Rev 7:81-90
Wilson, Bianca D M; Miyashita, Ayako (2016) Sexual and Gender Diversity within the Black Men who have Sex with Men HIV Epidemiological Category. Sex Res Social Policy 13:202-214
Frost, David M; Meyer, Ilan H; Hammack, Phillip L (2015) Health and Well-Being in Emerging Adults' Same-Sex Relationships: Critical Questions and Directions for Research in Developmental Science. Emerg Adulthood 3:3-13