New Research Shows Increased Minority Stress and Associated Clinical Symptom Severity Among Hospitalized LGBTQ+ Youth
While LGBTQ+ adolescents are more likely to be psychiatrically hospitalized than their non-LGBTQ+ peers, little research has involved LGBTQ+ youth in crisis. New research conducted with adolescents in a psychiatric hospital in the Southeastern US finds that 62% of hospitalized adolescents identified as LGBTQ+ and reported more severe clinical symptoms than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. This research also shows that LGBTQ+ minority stress is linked to suicidality and depression among hospitalized LGBTQ+ youth.
These findings come from a paper published recently in Psychiatry Research by co-author Jessica M. Schwartzman, PhD, at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, along with Drs. Alex Bettis at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Kirsty Clark at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Schwartzman is the director of CHLA’s Training and Research to Empower NeuroDiversity (TREND) Laboratory in The Saban Research Institute. In the study, the researchers identify high rates of recent and lifetime minority stress experiences among LGBTQ+ youth in crisis.
The study examines minority stress—the idea that LGBTQ+ individuals encounter excessive identity-specific stress sources that harm mental health. Some stressors include experiences of discrimination and victimization which can lead to expectations of rejection and internalized negativity. In part due to experiences of minority stress, LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented among populations hospitalized for psychiatric issues.
A Focus on Youth Perspectives
Expanding upon previous research, this study examines LGBTQ+ minority stress and clinical symptoms in psychiatrically hospitalized youth. “We found that LGBTQ+ adolescents had more severe mental health outcomes than other youth in the psychiatric inpatient unit, and that greater exposure to minority stress was linked with more severe mental health outcomes among hospitalized LGBTQ+ youth,” Dr. Schwartzman explains. The researchers highlight that the high rates of minority stressors facing LGBTQ+ youth in this study may also be influenced by regional contexts. “Adolescents in this study resided in the Southeastern U.S., where stigma due to anti-LGBTQ+ laws and social norms is high,” Dr. Schwartzman says.
After surveying these hospitalized youth to examine their LGBTQ+ minority stress experiences within the past 30 days and across their lifetimes, the researchers found that greater minority stress experiences were associated with higher levels of suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety. Hostile school environments and negative future expectations were the most prevalent sources of stress among LGBTQ+ youth in crisis.
New Tools for Treatment
The study’s results represent a crucial step forward in how clinicians may think about assessment practices and treatment guidelines for psychiatrically hospitalized youth who identify as LGBTQ+. The results also highlight the need for safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth at school, along with identity-affirming activities and interventions for LGBTQ+ youth in crisis.
Read more about this study in the journal Psychiatry Research.
