Authenticity, Well-Being, and Minority Stress in LGB Individuals: A Scoping Review

In general (i.e., heteronormative and cisgendered) samples, authenticity appears to protect against threats to well-being. Authenticity may also, in part, protect well-being against the minority stressors experienced by LGBTQIAP+ individuals. In this scoping review, we examined the relation between authenticity and well-being in LGBTQIAP+ samples experiencing threats to well-being via minority stress. We hypothesized that, for LGBTQIAP+ individuals: (i) minority stress relates to decreased authenticity (i.e., inauthenticity), (ii) authenticity relates to increased well-being, and (iii) authenticity influences the relation between minority stress and well-being. We identified 13 studies (N = 3,888) from systematic searches across Medline, Proquest, PsycINFO, and Scopus using terms related to gender/sexual identity, minority stress, authenticity, and well-being. In almost all studies, proximal (but not distal) stress was associated with inauthenticity, and inauthenticity was associated with decreased well-being. In all but one study, the association between proximal stress and well-being was associated with inauthenticity. Although these results are consistent with our hypotheses, the included studies were limited in scope and heterogenous in their methods, instruments, and samples, restricting conclusions regarding mediation or moderation. The results require replication, well-powered direct comparisons between LGBTQIAP+ and non-LGBTQIAP+ samples, and consideration of the varied ways authenticity can be conceptualized and measured.