LGBTQ Identity and Stress
Developing a healthy LGBTQ identity can be a formidable task, especially in high-stigma contexts or without family support. Our lab utilizes diverse methodologies (e.g., longitudinal representative cohort studies, studies of siblings and parents, daily diary methods) to explore the role of identity tasks, like coming out, on mental health, as well as the structural, historical, and developmental determinants of these tasks. Our ultimate goal is to understand why LGBTQ populations face substantial mental health disparities and to create structural and individual interventions to reduce these disparities.
For some LGBTQ people, LGBTQ-related stress (associated with events like discrimination, or internalized heteronormativity) can be compounded by stress from within the LGBTQ community itself. For example, research has documented hegemonic norms within the gay male community surrounding race/ethnicity, masculinity, body type, age, and HIV status that might contribute to stress among community members. Our goal in this line of work is to better understand all kinds of stressors LGBTQ people face (both within and outside of the LGBTQ community) in order to ultimately inform intervention efforts with this population.
Publications
2023
- Development and Validation of Two Abbreviated Intraminority Gay Community Stress Scales.Maiolatesi AJ, Satyanarayana S, Bränström R, Pachankis JE. Assessment. 2023 Jan; 2021 Sep 8. PMID: 34496672.
2022
- Emotion Regulation in Context: Expressive Flexibility as a Stigma Coping Resource for Sexual Minority Men.Wang K, Maiolatesi AJ, Burton CL, Scheer JR, Pachankis JE. Psychol Sex Orientat Gend Divers. 2022 Jun; 2021 Aug 16. PMID: 35757788.
- Coming out under fire: The role of minority stress and emotion regulation in sexual orientation disclosure.Seager van Dyk I, Aldao A, Pachankis JE. PLoS One. 2022; 2022 May 2. PMID: 35500012.
- Rejection sensitivity across sex, sexual orientation, and age: Measurement invariance and latent mean differences.Maiolatesi AJ, Clark KA, Pachankis JE. Psychol Assess. 2022 May; 2022 Jan 13. PMID: 35025579.
- Sexual Orientation Differences in Lethal Methods Used in Suicide: Findings From the National Violent Death Reporting System.Clark KA, Mays VM, Arah OA, Kheifets LI, Cochran SD. Arch Suicide Res. 2022 Apr-Jun; 2020 Sep 8. PMID: 32897837.
2021
- Syndemic Profiles and Sexual Minority Men's HIV-Risk Behavior: A Latent Class Analysis.Scheer JR, Clark KA, Maiolatesi AJ, Pachankis JE. Arch Sex Behav. 2021 Oct; 2021 Jan 22. PMID: 33483851.
2020
- Sexual orientation concealment and mental health: A conceptual and meta-analytic review.Pachankis JE, Mahon CP, Jackson SD, Fetzner BK, Bränström R. Psychol Bull. 2020 Oct; 2020 Jul 23. PMID: 32700941.
- Risk From Within: Intraminority Gay Community Stress and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Sexual Minority Men.Burton CL, Clark KA, Pachankis JE. Ann Behav Med. 2020 Sep 1. PMID: 32206770.
- Sex, status, competition, and exclusion: Intraminority stress from within the gay community and gay and bisexual men's mental health.Pachankis JE, Clark KA, Burton CL, Hughto JMW, Bränström R, Keene DE. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2020 Sep; 2020 Jan 13. PMID: 31928026.
- Untethered lives: barriers to societal integration as predictors of the sexual orientation disparity in suicidality.Bränström R, van der Star A, Pachankis JE. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2020 Jan; 2019 Jul 12. PMID: 31300892.
2019
- A multisite, longitudinal study of risk factors for incarceration and impact on mental health and substance use among young transgender women in the USA.Hughto JMW, Reisner SL, Kershaw TS, Altice FL, Biello KB, Mimiaga MJ, Garofalo R, Kuhns LM, Pachankis JE. J Public Health (Oxf). 2019 Mar 1. PMID: 29474682.
2018
- Young adult gay and bisexual men's stigma experiences and mental health: An 8-year longitudinal study.Pachankis JE, Sullivan TJ, Feinstein BA, Newcomb ME. Dev Psychol. 2018 Jul; 2018 Apr 5. PMID: 29620387.
2016
- Gay-Related Rejection Sensitivity as a Risk Factor for Condomless Sex.Wang K, Pachankis JE. AIDS Behav. 2016 Apr. PMID: 26459334.
2015
- The mental health of sexual minority adults in and out of the closet: A population-based study.Pachankis JE, Cochran SD, Mays VM. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2015 Oct; 2015 Aug 17. PMID: 26280492.
2014
- The influence of structural stigma and rejection sensitivity on young sexual minority men's daily tobacco and alcohol use.Pachankis JE, Hatzenbuehler ML, Starks TJ. Soc Sci Med. 2014 Feb. PMID: 24507912.
Additional Publications
- Clark, K. A., Salway, T., McConocha, E. M., & Pachankis, J. E. (2022). How do sexual and gender minority people acquire the capability for suicide? Voices from survivors of near-fatal suicide attempts. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, 2, 100044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100044
- Wang, K., Maiolatesi, A. J., Burton, C. L., Scheer, J. R., & Pachankis, J. E. (2021). Emotion regulation in context: Expressive flexibility as a stigma coping resource for sexual minority men. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000503
- Pachankis, J. E., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2013). The social development of contingent self-worth in sexual minority young men: An empirical investigation of the "Best Little Boy in the World" hypothesis. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35(2), 176-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2013.764304