In today’s society we are viewed as innovative thinkers, culturally diverse individuals, and accepting of those who have different beliefs and preferences. Although this may be true for some, there are continuous amounts of socially stigmatized affairs occurring closer to home than some may think. This brings up the topic of different minorities in society, more specifically, sexual minorities and the roles in which they themselves and those of the homosexual minority play. According to Meyer (1995), minority stress arises not only from negative events but from the totality of the minority person’s experience in a dominant society. This literature review strives to expose common findings found in existing studies and further answers the question, …show more content…
Some of these may include marriage, difficulties at work, an individual’s income, or even a death of a loved one. When looking into the lives of gay men and lesbians, it is observed that they have an additional type of stress that is different in comparison to the common life stressors that we know of, namely gay-related stress. Derived from multiple theories, minority stress, also known as gay-related stress, can “result from external stressors, such as hate crimes and discrimination, as well as internal stressors, such as internalized homophobia” (Meyer, 2003). According to Cochran (2003), Sullivan & Mays, sexual minorities are more likely to suffer from mood or anxiety disorders, as well as having more problems with substance abuse and experience symptoms of depression which have resulted from prejudicial behaviour. This gives greater reason to believe that minority and gay-related stress plays a crucial role in the likelihood of the individual developing depression-related behaviour as well as other disorders. It has been discovered that these stressors not only have psychological effects, but they also have physical effects to the individual. Williamson (2000) found that stressors related to being gay or lesbian may also have an effect on physical well-being and that internalized homophobia plays a crucial role as a precipitating factor in several aspects of illness and may affect progression …show more content…
In this case, place yourself into the position of the girl who likes other girls, or the boy who portrays himself in a more feminine way in society’s eyes, or even the one who may be too afraid to expose their real self that no one knows of their true identity. Being confronted with sexual prejudice and discrimination in a heterosexual society is the norm for those of the sexual minority, with the range beginning with verbal harassment and more often that thought, leading to physical violence. Those who are subject to these discriminatory behaviors often have increased negative emotional states (e.g., depression) and deteriorating physical health (Huebner & Davis, 2007). In addition, it has been proved that greater rates of psychological distress, psychiatric morbidity, and substance use difficulties observed among GLB adults are widely explained by their greater experience of discrimination than heterosexual adults (Mays & Cochran, 2001). When considering how these sources of impacts can influence an individual into a depressive state or develop depressive-like symptoms, understand that LGBTQ individuals have less social support or fewer resources to cope with victimization experiences (Dunbar, 2006). A survey was conducted by Ian Rivers focusing on the bullying of gays, lesbians and bisexuals and the