The Mediating Role of Attachment Avoidance in the Association between Sexual Orientation and Mental Health

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3666822
AutoresGeva Shenkman (0000-0002-5263-8888, School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel, autor de correspondencia), Yoav Stein (School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel), Y Mara Tesler Stein (Reichman University), Henny Bos (0000-0003-0559-6088, University of Amsterdam)
Año2021
Volumen68
Número3
Páginas461-475
Fecha de publicación2021-02-23
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00918369.2019.1656507
PMID31430229
OpenAlexW2969570243
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas47

The current study examined whether attachment avoidance mediates the association between being a sexual minority (gay men or lesbian women) and poorer mental health outcomes. For this purpose a community-dwelling sample of 350 gay men and lesbian women (M = 30.39, SD = 6.82) and 445 heterosexual men and women (M = 26.95, SD = 3.11) completed measures of attachment avoidance, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction. Results showed that gay men and lesbians reported poorer mental health. Moreover, attachment avoidance had a mediating effect on the association between being a sexual minority and depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and life satisfaction. These findings are some of the first to suggest empirical support for the role of attachment avoidance in accounting for the mental health vulnerability of gay men and lesbians. The results contribute to a better understanding of the minority stress model and should be addressed by practitioners

Anxiety · Association (psychology · Attachment theory · Depressive symptoms · Insecure attachment · Lesbian · Mental health · Minority stress · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Sexual minority · Sexual orientation · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Clinical Psychology · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology