Loneliness in Sexual Minority Individuals in the Southeastern United States: The Role of Minority Stress and Resilience.

Health disparities in the sexual minority population may be exacerbated by the loneliness experienced due to minority stress. Using a minority stress framework, this study examined minority stress, protective variables, and mental health as correlates of loneliness in sexual minority individuals in a small metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. Participants (n = 273) were a subsample of sexual minority individuals from a broader sample of LGBTQ adults in the Central Savannah River area who completed a health needs assessment. Bivariate correlations were calculated to assess for degree of significant relationships between loneliness and barriers to health care, minority stress, and mental health. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted to examine the relative importance of the study variables' associations with loneliness. A multiple regression model found household income, assault victimization, depressive symptoms, and sense of community to be significant correlates of loneliness. Interventions to decrease loneliness in this population will need to consider these interconnected, multi-level influences.

Differences in Health Care Access, Utilization, and Experiences Among LGBTQ+ Subgroups in the Southern United States.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) individuals experience health inequities and barriers to accessing appropriate, affirming care. Little is known about differing health care experiences within the LGBTQ+ population, particularly among individuals living in underserved areas. This study explored health care experiences and utilization among LGBTQ+ subgroups: lesbian and gay cisgender individuals (n = 258), bisexual+ cisgender individuals (n = 71), and transgender and gender-diverse individuals (n = 80). Participants were recruited from a geographic region in South Carolina and Georgia and completed an online survey regarding negative health care experiences, barriers to care, and utilization of different health care venues and services. Results revealed significant differences between LGBTQ+ subgroups, with transgender and gender-diverse participants reporting more discriminatory experiences and greater barriers to care. Bisexual+ cisgender individuals also experienced some disparities compared with lesbian and gay cisgender individuals. Most participants endorsed a need for more competent providers. Findings and recommendations are considered within the context of the Southeastern United States for addressing access and utilization disparities among LGBTQ+ communities.

Gender Minority Stress and Health Perceptions Among Transgender Individuals in a Small Metropolitan Southeastern Region of the United States.

Purpose: Transgender individuals continue to face wide-ranging health disparities, which may be due in part to unique and chronic gender identity-related stressors. The present study assessed the relationships between barriers to health care, proximal minority stress related to perceived community safety, and overall health perceptions of transgender individuals living in a small metropolitan region of the Southern United States. Methods: Participants included 66 transgender individuals who took part in a larger lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community needs assessment study. Participants completed measures of barriers to health care, inclusive of medical access barriers, psychosocial needs barriers, and personal resource barriers, perceptions of LGBTQ safety within the region, and overall perceptions of health. Results: Results revealed that psychosocial needs barriers, personal needs barriers, and perceived lack of community safety were correlated with poorer self-perceptions of overall health, with psychosocial needs barriers and perceived lack of community safety independently predictive of poor health perceptions. Conclusions: The study demonstrates the need for greater health resources and access to care, as well as improved community conditions for transgender individuals, particularly those in less populated, Southern regions of the United States, to improve health quality and ultimately reduce community health disparities.