Evidence suggests that sexual minorities (e.g., those identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual) experience increased rates of depression compared to heterosexual individuals. Minority stress theory suggests that this disparity is due to stigma experienced by sexual minorities. Stigma processes are proposed to contribute to reduced coping/support resources and increased vulnerability processes for mental health problems. This review provided a systematic examination of research assessing the evidence for mediating factors that help explain such disparities. A literature search was conducted using the databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. The review included 40 identified studies that examined mediators of sexual minority status and depressive outcomes using a between-group design (i.e., heterosexual versus sexual minority participants). Studies of adolescents and adult samples were both included. The most common findings were consistent with the suggestion that stressors such as victimization, harassment, abuse, and increased stress, as well as lower social and family support, may contribute to differing depression rates in sexual minority compared to heterosexual individuals. Differences in psychological processes such as self-esteem and rumination may also play a role but have had insufficient research attention so far. However, caution is needed because many papers had important methodological shortcomings such as the use of cross-sectional designs, inferior statistical analyses for mediation, or measures that had not been properly validated. Although firm conclusions cannot be drawn, the current evidence base highlights many factors potentially suitable for further exploration in high-quality longitudinal research or randomized studies intervening with the potential mediators.

有证据表明，与异性恋者相比，性少数群体（例如，那些被认定为女同性恋、男同性恋或双性恋者）患抑郁症的几率更高。少数群体压力理论表明，这种差异是由于性少数群体所经历的耻辱。污名化过程被提议有助于减少应对/支持资源并增加心理健康问题的脆弱性过程。本综述对评估有助于解释此类差异的中介因素的证据的研究进行了系统检查。使用数据库 PubMed、PsycINFO 和 Web of Science 进行了文献检索。该评价包括 40 项确定的研究，这些研究使用组间设计（即异性恋与性少数参与者）检查了性少数地位和抑郁结果的中介因素。对青少年和成人样本的研究都包括在内。最常见的发现与以下建议一致，即与异性恋者相比，受害、骚扰、虐待和压力增加以及较低的社会和家庭支持等压力因素可能导致性少数群体的抑郁率不同。自尊和沉思等心理过程的差异也可能发挥作用，但迄今为止尚未得到足够的研究关注。然而，需要谨慎，因为许多论文存在重要的方法学缺陷，例如使用横断面设计、较差的中介统计分析或未经适当验证的措施。虽然不能得出确切的结论，