Gender, Shame, and Social Support in LGBTQI+ Exposed to Discrimination: A Model for Understanding the Impact on Mental Health

Joana Cabral () and Tiago Miguel Pinto
Additional contact information
Joana Cabral: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab–HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
Tiago Miguel Pinto: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab–HEI-Lab, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-21

Abstract: Discrimination and homonegativity have been consistently linked to poorer mental health outcomes in LGBTQI+ individuals. However, little is known about the role of internal shame and the potential moderating role of social support. This cross-sectional study investigated the impact of discrimination, internal shame, and social support on mental health outcomes in LGBTQI+ individuals, exploring the intersection between gender and sexual orientation. LGBTQI+ participants, especially women, reveal higher levels of discrimination and shame and a stronger impact on mental health outcomes compared to heterosexual counter-partners. Internal shame was found to mediate the impact of discrimination on depression and anxiety. Social support was found to buffer the impact of discrimination on internal shame, depression, and anxiety. These findings have important implications for clinical practice with LGBTQI+ individuals, suggesting that addressing internal shame and building social support networks are central to promoting resilience and mental health. Results also highlight that gender and sexual orientation should be considered in an intersectional approach when addressing gender-based violence and discrimination and its impact on mental health.

Keywords: gender-based violence; discrimination; mental health; LGBTQI+; shame; social support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/8/454/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/8/454/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:8:p:454-:d:1217880

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().