Dr. Van der Star, a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, recently published a new theoretical framework that aims to reshape how we understand the impact of stigma on the health of sexual minorities, like gay, bisexual, and other queer individuals. Sexual minority stigma, sometimes also referred to as homophobia/biphobia etc., has long been argued to be an important contributor to the markedly elevated risk for mental and physical health problems in this population.
The framework, published in Social Science & Medicine, draws on socioecological and minority stress theories to propose a more nuanced approach to understanding how sexual minority stigma operates. It provides a comprehensive new framework to help researchers move beyond identifying isolated risk factors and instead look at the broader, interconnected societal systems that contribute to health disparities. Indeed, exposure to sexual minority stigma, for example, in the form of victimization or bullying, doesn’t just happen in a vacuum. That is, stigma manifests itself across various levels in today’s society—structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal—creating a system of marginalization that can vary over time and across different contexts.
In the article, Dr. Van der Star emphasizes that existing studies often overlook the complex interplay between these levels, particularly the ways in which structural factors (like laws or policies) influence interpersonal and intrapersonal experiences of stigma. By expanding on this multilevel perspective, the research article aims to shift how researchers study sexual minority health. The framework offers a detailed new way to help understand how sexual minority stigma affects health and how researchers may better account for mechanisms that underlie that association. This new approach should help future studies to highlight the true magnitude of the health impact of sexual minority stigma, ultimately informing public health strategies and clinical interventions.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953624009389