Minority stress

Human sexuality

Psychoanalysis

Social psychology

Gender studies

Heterosexism

Sexual orientation

Sexual minority

Psychology

Transgender

Sexual identity

Psychotherapist

Sociology

Mental health

Clinical psychology

Stressor

Lesbian

Journal of Homosexuality

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations experience significant health disparities, theorized to result from LGBT specific minority stressors. The fully conceptualized Minority Stress Model was published more than 15 years ago. Minority stressors include external conditions and events, such as discrimination and victimization. Internal minority stressors include expectations of rejection and discrimination, concealment of minority identity, and internalizations of negative dominant cultural attitudes, beliefs, stereotypes, and values. Connection to sexual and gender minority communities is theorized to moderate the effects of minority stressors. In this integrative review, I examine two decades of research on minority stress. Based on this review, I highlight strengths and limitations of the model, and suggest next steps for moving minority stress research forward.

Minority Stress and Mental Health: A Review of the Literature