TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-Continuity Moderates the Association Between Sexual-Minority Status Based Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms
AU - Martin-Storey, Alexa
AU - Recchia, Holly E.
AU - Santo, Jonathan B.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was undertaken, in part, thanks to funding from the Canada Research Chairs program (Canada Research Chair in Stigma and Psychosocial Development), and a postdoctoral fellowship from Fonds de Recherche Société et Culture to the first author. Opinions reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of the granting agencies. The authors also wish to acknowledge the participants who took their time to participate in this survey, as well as the Gender and Sexuality Center at the University of Texas at Austin for help in participant recruitment.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Self-continuity, or how an individual understands their sense of self as persisting from past to present and present to future, is an important aspect of the self-concept that is linked to mental health outcomes. This self-concept construct may be particularly pertinent for sexual minority populations, as living in a heterosexist environment may prove detrimental for the development of self-continuity. The current study examined self-continuity among sexual minority and heterosexual community college and university students (N = 292). Compared to their heterosexual peers, sexual minority participants reported lower levels of self-continuity. Self-continuity moderated the associations between victimization due to gender nonconformity and victimization due to sexual minority status and depressive symptoms, such that higher levels of self-continuity were protective among individuals who were experiencing higher levels of victimization due to gender nonconformity or sexual minority status. Findings will be discussed in terms of their implications for identity development among emerging adults.
AB - Self-continuity, or how an individual understands their sense of self as persisting from past to present and present to future, is an important aspect of the self-concept that is linked to mental health outcomes. This self-concept construct may be particularly pertinent for sexual minority populations, as living in a heterosexist environment may prove detrimental for the development of self-continuity. The current study examined self-continuity among sexual minority and heterosexual community college and university students (N = 292). Compared to their heterosexual peers, sexual minority participants reported lower levels of self-continuity. Self-continuity moderated the associations between victimization due to gender nonconformity and victimization due to sexual minority status and depressive symptoms, such that higher levels of self-continuity were protective among individuals who were experiencing higher levels of victimization due to gender nonconformity or sexual minority status. Findings will be discussed in terms of their implications for identity development among emerging adults.
KW - Self-continuity
KW - depressive symptoms
KW - emerging adulthood
KW - gender nonconformity-based discrimination
KW - self-concept
KW - sexual minority identity
KW - sexual-minority status-based discrimination
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U2 - 10.1080/00918369.2020.1733350
DO - 10.1080/00918369.2020.1733350
M3 - Article
C2 - 32130077
AN - SCOPUS:85081205277
SN - 0091-8369
VL - 68
SP - 2075
EP - 2096
JO - Journal of Homosexuality
JF - Journal of Homosexuality
IS - 12
ER -