The impact of minority stress on mental health and substance use among sexual minority women.

We examined the direct and indirect impact of minority stress on mental health and substance use among sexual minority women. METHOD: A combination of snowball and targeted sampling strategies was used to recruit lesbian and bisexual women (N = 1,381) for a cross-sectional, online survey. Participants (M age = 33.54 years; 74% White) completed a questionnaire assessing gender expression, minority stressors (i.e., victimization, internalized homophobia, and concealment), social-psychological resources (i.e., social support, spirituality), and health-related outcomes. We used structural equation modeling to test associations among these factors, with gender expression as an antecedent and social-psychological resources as a mediator between minority stress and health.

The final model demonstrated acceptable fit, χ²(79) = 414.00, p