The relationship of minority stress and community resilience in LGBTQ+ individuals: The mediating role of social support and stress-related growth

Abstract

The purpose of the following project is to investigate the relationship of minority stress and community resilience in LGBTQ+ individuals. This relationship is further examined through the mediating relationship of social support and stress related growth. Minority stress refers to the chronic stressors and negative experiences faced by members of stigmatized or marginalized social groups because of their membership in those groups (Frost & Meyer, 2023). The LGBT Minority Stress Measure – Short Version will be utilized to measure minority stress in the participants (Outland, 2016). Community resilience refers to “how communities further the capacities of individuals to develop and sustain well-being” (Hall & Zautra, 2010). Communities can provide resources that can assist individuals in coping with stress (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). Community resilience will be examined through the Transcultural Community Resilience Scale (Cénat et al., 2021). To better understand the relationship between the two variables, mediators such as social support and stress related growth will be used. The scale utilized to investigate social support will be the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988). Finally, stress-related growth refers to a measurable change in positive outcomes related to a stressful experience. The scale utilized to test stress related growth will be the Revised Stress-Related Growth Scale (Boals & Schuler, 2018). The authors milieu and LGBTQ+ community centers contacted provided 146 people that participated in the present study. 88 of those participants were analyzed. This thesis provided valuable insight on the importance of community resilience and ways communities can assist LGBTQ+ individuals in minimizing their minority stress through social support and stress-related growth.