John E Pachankis
Biographic Data
| ID | 301206 |
|---|---|
| NAME | John E Pachankis |
| GIVEN NAMES | John E |
| FAMILY NAME | Pachankis |
| SIGNATURE | PACHANKIS J E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Yale University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2015-9225 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 99 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 523 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 99 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 12 |
A Mobile Counseling Program for Gay and Bisexual Men’s Mental, Behavioral, and Sexual Health in Eastern Europe
In Romania, the HIV epidemic attributed to male-to-male sexual contact is high, due to multiple sociocultural manifestations of stigma toward gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBM), which is associated with inadequate HIV prevention. The current analyses describe the results of an intervention aiming to reduce HIV risk and heavy alcohol use, and improve mental health and minority stress-related outcomes, among GBM in Romania. Be…
Adverse childhood experiences partially mediate sexual minority disparities in depression, anxiety, and suicidality in a population-based study
Sexual minority individuals experience persistently elevated risks of internalizing psychopathology and suicidality, to which increased exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; i.e., negative life experiences and circumstances before age 18) might contribute. In a population-based nationally representative sample, this study investigated sexual orientation identity differences in ACEs and whether these differences statistically mediated s…
State of the Science of Structural Stigma and LGBTQ+ Health
While public health practitioners and scholars have long theorized that structural forms of stigma shape the health of disadvantaged groups, they have frequently bemoaned the lack of research on this topic. A unique opportunity to address this lacuna occurred in the past two decades, with the advent of dramatic changes in laws, social attitudes, and other structural manifestations of stigma surrounding LGBTQ+ individuals. In a review of this lite…
Mental health treatment preferences of sexual minority youth and young adults
A growing body of research among sexual minority (e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual) populations has highlighted unique mental health treatment needs and barriers to care. Despite the rapid proliferation of novel treatments across diverse delivery modalities to address these needs and barriers, few studies have assessed sexual minority people's preferences for mental health treatment. This study described sexual minority youth and young adults' mental…
Development and validation of the Transgender/Nonbinary Identity Support From Partners Scale
Transgender and/or nonbinary (TNB) people often highlight romantic partners as a key source of social support related to their TNB identity. Accordingly, there is a need for validated measures to quantify TNB identity support in romantic relationships. We used a multi-phase process to develop and evaluate a multidimensional measure of TNB identity support from romantic partners. First, we generated items based on prior qualitative research, then …
Sexual minority individuals’ explanations for the sexual orientation disparity in depression
A Pilot Trial of an LGBTQ-Affirmative Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Transgender and Gender Expansive Individuals’ Mental, Behavioral, and Sexual Health
This study tested LGBTQ-affirmative CBT for transgender people in Romania. • LGBTQ-affirmative CBT was feasible and acceptable for this population. • Those who received LGBTQ-affirmative CBT reported improved mental health. • LGBTQ-affirmative CBT is promising for transgender people in high-stigma settings. Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) individuals face minority stress and associated health risks, especially in high-stigma contexts. Lesb…
Structural Stigma and 7-Year Improvement in Life Satisfaction among Diverse Groups of Sexual Minority Individuals
Structural stigma toward sexual minority individuals, in the form of discriminatory laws and prejudicial population attitudes, varies widely across countries and is associated with psychosocial health outcomes. Yet, the association of changes in country-level structural stigma over time, as has recently characterized many European countries, with such outcomes is largely unknown. Using data from sexual minority respondents (2012: n=82,668; 2019: …
Structural stigma and LGBTQ+ health
LGBQ-affirming clinical recommendations for compulsive sexual behavior disorder
“There's a lot of conflict between your queer identity and also your Muslim or Arab identity;” A qualitative exploration of the intersectional minority stressors of U.S.-born Arab sexual minority cisg…
A qualitative exploration of minority stress, mental health, and sexual health among Arab immigrant sexual minority men in the United States
Participants reported multiple forms of stressors related to their intersectional identities that affected their mental health, sexual health, and coping strategies. Many stressors were experienced before immigrating to the United States; however, several stressors persisted, and some new ones emerged after immigration. Results call for the development of mental health interventions informed by the unique experiences of Arab immigrant SMM and int…
A Developmental Model of the Sexual Minority Closet
Individual, Interpersonal, and Structural Factors That Influence Intentions to Use Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Sexual Minority Men in Miami
Incorporating macro-social contexts into emotion research
Research into correlates and predictors of emotion regulation has focused almost exclusively on individual differences and the immediate situation. Here, we consider whether features of macro-social contexts may also shape emotion regulation. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a longitudinal study of 502 gay and bisexual men living in 269 U.S. counties that varied in the level of stigma surrounding sexual minorities. We find that gay and bisex…
Kept in the Closet
Future Research Directions on “The Closet” as Metaphor and Reality
Hypervigilance
Hypervigilance is often theoretically invoked as a psychological mechanism linking stigma to internalizing psychopathology among sexual minorities. Empirically, however, hypervigilance is rarely explicitly assessed but is instead commonly conflated with putatively related constructs, including sexual-orientation-related rejection sensitivity and rumination, hindering conceptual and mechanistic understandings of this process. We therefore embedded…
Experiences of stigma, mental health, and coping strategies in Lebanon among Lebanese and displaced Syrian men who have sex with men
How do sexual and gender minority people acquire the capability for suicide? Voices from survivors of near-fatal suicide attempts
Despite well-documented disparities by sexual and gender minority (SGM) status in suicide attempt and mortality rates, few studies have investigated the lived experiences that contribute to SGM people's disproportionate risk of suicide. Having a history of at least one near-fatal (or medically serious) suicide attempt serves as a proxy for suicide mortality, but no known study has involved SGM people who have made such an attempt. Ideation-to-act…
Social Anxiety Among Sexual Minority Individuals
What do we know about interventions to reduce intersectional stigma and discrimination in the context of HIV? A systematic review
There is ample literature on interventions to reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stigma and discrimination and extant theory around intersectionality. However, the integration of intersectionality into the design and implementation of stigma reduction interventions is nascent. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we reviewed 23 studies from six countries to examine the state of the evidence o…
The buckle of the Bible Belt
Sexual minority emegerging adults experience intersectional stigma in a socially conservative Appalachian setting. Attention to their unique experiences points towards specific service and community support needs
Rejection sensitivity and sexual minority men’s social anxiety disorder
Although gay-related rejection sensitivity (RS) is associated with social anxiety among sexual minority men, little attention has been given to the validity of gay-related RS measures and to individual differences that might moderate the association between gay-related RS and social anxiety. In a population-based sample of sexual minority men, Study 1 ( N = 114) investigated the incremental validity of gay-related RS and showed that gay-related R…
Age-varying sexual orientation disparities in mental health, treatment utilization, and social stress
The psychological implications of concealing a stigma
Many assume that individuals with a hidden stigma escape the difficulties faced by individuals with a visible stigma. However, recent research has shown that individuals with a concealable stigma also face considerable stressors and psychological challenges. The ambiguity of social situations combined with the threat of potential discovery makes possessing a concealable stigma a difficult predicament for many individuals. The increasing amount of…
The influence of structural stigma and rejection sensitivity on young sexual minority men's daily tobacco and alcohol use
Discriminatory experiences associated with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among transgender adults
Discrimination has been shown to disproportionately burden transgender people; however, there has been a lack of clinical attention to the mental health sequelae of discrimination, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Additionally, few studies contextualize discrimination alongside other traumatic stressors in predicting PTSD symptomatology. The current study sought to fill these gaps. A community-based sample of 412 transgend…
Young adult gay and bisexual men’s stigma experiences and mental health
This study investigated longitudinal trajectories of stigma (i.e., enacted, anticipated, internalized, concealed); stress-sensitive mental health disorder symptoms (i.e., depression, social anxiety); and their associations across 8 annual assessments in a sample of 128 young gay and bisexual U.S. university students. All forms of stigma significantly decreased over time, while depressive symptoms remained stable and social anxiety symptoms signif…
Minority stress, social integration, and the mental health needs of LGBTQ asylum seekers in North America
Sex, status, competition, and exclusion
252). Overall, these experiments provide partial support for the possibility that gay and bisexual men's status concerns underlie their experience of gay community stress. Together, these studies advance psychological and sociological accounts of gay and bisexual men's mental health beyond minority stress theory, with implications for intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
Religious Climate and Health Risk Behaviors in Sexual Minority Youths
Objectives. We examined whether the health risk behaviors of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths are determined in part by the religious composition of the communities in which they live. Methods. Data were collected from 31 852 high school students, including 1413 LGB students, who participated in the Oregon Healthy Teens survey in 2006 through 2008. Supportive religious climate was operationalized according to the proportion of individuals …
"What's the right thing to do?" Correctional healthcare providers' knowledge, attitudes and experiences caring for transgender inmates
Minority Stress and the Risk of Unwanted Sexual Experiences in LGBQ Undergraduates
The Geography of Sexual Orientation
Improving correctional healthcare providers' ability to care for transgender patients
An etiological model of anxiety in young gay men
This study proposed a path model linking boyhood gender nonconformity and parental disapproval of self-expression to public self-consciousness, attempts to cover or downplay the visibility and relevance of one’s sexual minority identity, and anxious affect in the daily lives of young gay male college students (mean age 20.56, SD 2.13). To establish the relevance of boyhood gender nonconformity and parental disapproval of self-expression in gay me…
An Expanded Definition of Intersectional Stigma for Public Health Research and Praxis
A Transdiagnostic Minority Stress Treatment Approach for Gay and Bisexual Men’s Syndemic Health Conditions
A Longitudinal, Mixed Methods Study of Sexual Position Identity, Behavior, and Fantasies Among Young Sexual Minority Men
Hypervigilance
Hypervigilance is often theoretically invoked as a psychological mechanism linking stigma to internalizing psychopathology among sexual minorities. Empirically, however, hypervigilance is rarely explicitly assessed but is instead commonly conflated with putatively related constructs, including sexual-orientation-related rejection sensitivity and rumination, hindering conceptual and mechanistic understandings of this process. We therefore embedded…
Country-Level Structural Stigma, School-Based and Adulthood Victimization, and Life Satisfaction Among Sexual Minority Adults
Country-level structural stigma, defined as prejudiced population attitudes and discriminatory legislation and policies, has been suggested to compromise the wellbeing of sexual minority adults. This study explores whether and how structural stigma might be associated with sexual minorities’ school-based and adulthood experiences of victimization and adulthood life satisfaction. Using a sample of 55,263 sexual minority individuals (22% female; 53…
Sexual Orientation Disparities in Preventable Disease
Objectives. To determine whether fundamental cause theory (which posits that, in societal conditions of unequal power and resources, members of higher-status groups experience better health than members of lower-status groups because of their disproportionate access to health-protective factors) might be relevant in explaining health disparities related to sexual orientation. Methods. We used 2001 to 2011 morbidity data from the Stockholm Public …
Risk and Protective Factors for Social Anxiety Among Sexual Minority Individuals
Healthcare mistreatment and avoidance in trans masculine adults
Rejection sensitivity may contribute to healthcare avoidance among stigmatized TM patients; however, longitudinal research is needed to establish the temporal ordering of these processes. Multilevel interventions to reduce healthcare discrimination and help TM adults cope with the psychological and behavioral consequences of stigma are recommended
Do Genes Explain Sexual Minority Mental Health Disparities
Mental health provider training to improve LGBTQ competence and reduce implicit and explicit bias
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in most countries face strong stigma and often rely on affirmative mental health care to foster coping and resilience. We tested an LGBTQ-affirmative mental health training for psychologists and psychiatrists by comparing in-person versus online modalities and the added benefit of supervision. Participants were randomized to a two-day training either in-person ( n = 58) or via liv…
Minority stress, psychosocial health, and survival among gay and bisexual men before, during, and after incarceration
Experiences of stigma, mental health, and coping strategies in Lebanon among Lebanese and displaced Syrian men who have sex with men
Early Timing and Determinants of the Sexual Orientation Disparity in Internalizing Psychopathology
The psychological implications of concealing a stigma
Many assume that individuals with a hidden stigma escape the difficulties faced by individuals with a visible stigma. However, recent research has shown that individuals with a concealable stigma also face considerable stressors and psychological challenges. The ambiguity of social situations combined with the threat of potential discovery makes possessing a concealable stigma a difficult predicament for many individuals. The increasing amount of…
Extension of the rejection sensitivity construct to the interpersonal functioning of gay men.
On the basis of recent evidence suggesting that gay men are particularly likely to fear interpersonal rejection, the authors set out to extend the rejection sensitivity construct to the mental health concerns of gay men. After establishing a reliable and valid measure of the gay-related rejection sensitivity construct, the authors use this to test the mediating effect of internalized homophobia on the relationship between parental rejection of on…
Age Cohort Differences in the Effects of Gay-Related Stigma, Anxiety and Identification with the Gay Community on Sexual Risk and Substance Use
An etiological model of anxiety in young gay men
This study proposed a path model linking boyhood gender nonconformity and parental disapproval of self-expression to public self-consciousness, attempts to cover or downplay the visibility and relevance of one’s sexual minority identity, and anxious affect in the daily lives of young gay male college students (mean age 20.56, SD 2.13). To establish the relevance of boyhood gender nonconformity and parental disapproval of self-expression in gay me…
The Psychological Impact of Genital Herpes Stigma
This article reviews the psychological consequences of genital herpes infection through the lens of a recently proposed framework for conceptualizing concealable stigmas. We incorporate research on identity, stigma, and the connection between psychological and physical health to outline how negative stigma-related psychological consequences perpetuate distress associated with genital herpes. Our review of the research suggests a model linking neg…
Religious Climate and Health Risk Behaviors in Sexual Minority Youths
Objectives. We examined whether the health risk behaviors of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths are determined in part by the religious composition of the communities in which they live. Methods. Data were collected from 31 852 high school students, including 1413 LGB students, who participated in the Oregon Healthy Teens survey in 2006 through 2008. Supportive religious climate was operationalized according to the proportion of individuals …
Developing an Online Health Intervention for Young Gay and Bisexual Men
Clinical issues in working with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients
This article discusses some of the key clinical issues for therapists to consider when working with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. After a discussion of the biases that can influence psychotherapy, guidelines are given for conducting LGB-affirmative therapy that avoids these biases. Issue
The relationship between objectively coded explanatory style and mental health in the stigma-related narratives of young gay men
A Longitudinal, Mixed Methods Study of Sexual Position Identity, Behavior, and Fantasies Among Young Sexual Minority Men
Uncovering clinical principles and techniques to address minority stress, mental health, and related health risks among gay and bisexual men.
Gay and bisexual men disproportionately experience depression, anxiety, and related health risks at least partially because of their exposure to sexual minority stress. This paper describes the adaptation of an evidence-based intervention capable of targeting the psychosocial pathways through which minority stress operates. Interviews with key stakeholders, including gay and bisexual men with depression and anxiety and expert providers, suggested…
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of a Live-Chat Social Media Intervention to Reduce HIV Risk Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men
The Role of Maladaptive Cognitions in Hypersexuality Among Highly Sexually Active Gay and Bisexual Men
The influence of structural stigma and rejection sensitivity on young sexual minority men's daily tobacco and alcohol use
LGB-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy for young adult gay and bisexual men
OBJECTIVES: We tested the preliminary efficacy of a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral treatment adapted to improve depression, anxiety, and co-occurring health risks (i.e., alcohol use, sexual compulsivity, condomless sex) among young adult gay and bisexual men. Treatment adaptations focused on reducing minority stress processes that underlie sexual orientation-related mental health disparities. METHOD: Young gay and bisexual men (n = 63; M ag…
Hidden from health
OBJECTIVE: Substantial country-level variation exists in prejudiced attitudes towards male homosexuality and in the extent to which countries promote the unequal treatment of MSM through discriminatory laws. The impact and underlying mechanisms of country-level stigma on odds of diagnosed HIV, sexual opportunities, and experience of HIV-prevention services, needs and behaviours have rarely been examined, however. DESIGN: Data come from the Europe…
A minority stress—emotion regulation model of sexual compulsivity among highly sexually active gay and bisexual men.
OBJECTIVE: Sexual compulsivity represents a significant public health concern among gay and bisexual men, given its co-occurrence with other mental health problems and HIV infection. The purpose of this study was to examine a model of sexual compulsivity based on minority stress theory and emotion regulation models of mental health among gay and bisexual men. METHOD: Gay and bisexual men in New York City reporting at least nine past-90-day sexual…
The mental health of sexual minority adults in and out of the closet
OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have found that sexual orientation concealment affords escape from stigma and discrimination but also creates a psychological toll. While disclosure alleviates the mental burden of concealment, it invites the stress of navigating a new public identity. Population-based samples that include both "in" and "out" sexual minorities provide an ideal opportunity to resolve limitations and inconsistencies of previous nonproba…
Gay-Related Rejection Sensitivity as a Risk Factor for Condomless Sex
Transgender stigma and health
A Transdiagnostic Minority Stress Treatment Approach for Gay and Bisexual Men’s Syndemic Health Conditions
Stigma and Minority Stress as Social Determinants of Health Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth
Importance of substance use and violence in psychosocial syndemics among women with and at-risk for HIV
Women in the US continue to be affected by HIV through heterosexual contact. Sexual risk behaviors among women have been associated with a syndemic, or a mutually reinforcing set of conditions, including childhood sexual abuse (CSA), depression, substance use, violence, and financial hardship. Baseline data from a cohort of women with and at-risk for HIV (N = 620; 52% HIV+) were analyzed with Poisson regression to assess evidence for additive, in…
Genital herpes stigma
Despite its highly prevalent and stigmatizing nature, genital herpes has received little attention from stigma researchers relative to other sexually transmitted infections. This limitation is of great relevance to researchers and practitioners in both clinical and healthcare settings, given that stigma can cause psychological distress and hinder disclosure to sexual partners, hence contributing to the spread of genital herpes. The present resear…
Societal-level explanations for reductions in sexual orientation mental health disparities
Psychology (92 works) · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy (77 works) · Social Psychology (73 works) · Clinical Psychology (70 works) · Psychiatry (69 works) · Sexual orientation (64 works) · Medicine (60 works) · Sexual minority (55 works) · Clinical Psychology (44 works) · Social Psychology (39 works)