ABSTRACT

COVID-19 has had far-reaching effects on people’s lives, with evidence of a disproportionate impact on marginalized groups. Given existing health disparities and research on minority stress, COVID-19 may have uniquely impacted psychological well-being among sexual minorities. In an online survey of adults in the U.S. (N = 1,007) conducted in April 2020, we examined differences between sexual minority and heterosexual participants in psychological well-being, social distancing, computer-mediated communication, and COVID-19-related worry and experiences. Sexual minorities reported lower thriving and greater psychological distress, social distancing, computer-mediated communication, and COVID-19 worry and experiences than heterosexual participants. Social distancing and distress were positively correlated among sexual minorities and more frequent computer-mediated communication predicted greater thriving across groups. Path analyses showed sexual minorities’ poorer psychological well-being was mediated by their greater COVID-19 worry and social distancing, in particular. These findings shed light on the distinct impact of COVID-19 on sexual minorities.

摘要

COVID-19对人们的生活产生了深远的影响，有证据表明对边缘化群体的影响不成比例。考虑到现有的健康差异和对少数群体压力的研究，COVID-19可能对性少数群体的心理健康产生了独特的影响。在美国成年人的在线调查（ñ（= 1,007）在2020年4月进行，我们研究了性少数群体和异性恋参与者在心理健康，社交距离，计算机介导的沟通以及与COVID-19相关的担忧和经历方面的差异。与异性恋参与者相比，性少数群体的蓬勃发展和心理困扰，社交疏远，计算机介导的沟通以及COVID-19的担忧和经历更大。性少数群体之间的社交距离和苦恼呈正相关，更频繁的计算机介导的交流预示着群体之间的繁荣。路径分析显示，性少数群体的心理健康状况较差，尤其是由于他们对COVID-19的担忧和社交距离增加所致。这些发现揭示了COVID-19对性少数群体的独特影响。