Examination Of Minority Stress Pathways To Suicidal Ideation Among Sexual Minority Adults: The Moderating Role Of Lgbt Community Connectedness

Individuals identifying as sexual minorities are at heightened risk for suicidal ideation and attempts. Meyer's (1995, 2003) minority stress model proposes that external minority stressors (i.e., harassment, rejection, discrimination) result in the internalization of these negative attitudes and beliefs, which then leads to psychological distress (e.g., suicidal thoughts). However, the role of potential resiliency factors, such as connectedness to the LGBT community, remains less explored. This study aimed to (a) replicate previous work demonstrating that internalized homophobia accounts for the relationship between external minority stressors and suicidal ideation; and (b) examine whether LGBT community connectedness moderates these associations, above and beyond more general connectedness. A sample of 329 adults (58.4% cisgender male, 36.8% cisgender female, 2.4% transgender female, 1.2% transgender male, 0.9% gender nonconforming, 0.3% other gender) identifying as sexual minorities (86.3% gay/ lesbian, 10.0% bisexual/pansexual, 0.3% asexual, 3.3% another sexual orientation), aged 18 to 74 years (M = 30.94, SD = 7.18), completed a battery of self-report measures online. Results of a moderated mediation model using path analysis indicated that internalized homophobia accounted for the association between greater external minority stressors and more severe suicidal ideation. Further, associations between greater external minority stressors and greater internalized homophobia, and between greater internalized homophobia and more severe suicidal ideation, were stronger at high, rather than low, levels of LGBT community connectedness. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how minority stress, community connectedness, and internalized homophobia may contribute to suicide risk among sexual minority individuals.