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Minority stress and sleep disturbance: How does anxiety mediate the relationship between stress and sleep for a sample of sexual minority men?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

J. Gibbs  and
R. Fusco
J. Gibbs*
Affiliation:
University of Georgia, School Of Social Work, Athens, United States of America
R. Fusco
Affiliation:
University of Georgia, School Of Social Work, Athens, United States of America
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

There is growing evidence that sexual minority men (e.g., gay, bisexual) experience lower sleep quality when compared to their heterosexual peers. Minority stress (e.g., discrimination, victimization) may account for these differences, however little is known about these relationships and how generalized anxiety may play a role in sleep disturbance.

Objectives

Therefore, the aims of this study are to (a) understand the relationship between minority stress and sleep disturbance in a sample of sexual minority men, and (b) test whether these relationships are mediated by generalized anxiety.

Methods

In 2020, 241 sexual minority men were recruited across a south-eastern state in the USA. Participants were asked to respond to scales assessing perceived social stress, minority stress constructs (i.e., internalized homophobia, experiences of harassment, microaggressions), generalized anxiety, and sleep disturbance. Linear regressions were used to test the relationship between minority stress and sleep disturbance controlling for perceived social stress and to test mediation by generalized anxiety.

Results

Two minority stress constructs (experiences of harassment, and microaggressions) and perceived social stress were found to have a positive relationship with sleep disturbance. Generalized anxiety symptoms fully mediated the relationship between minority stress and sleep disturbance.

Conclusions

Because sleep quality has a profound impact on health, findings from this study suggest the need for psychological intervention to improve sleep for sexual minority men. Given that generalized anxiety fully mediates the relationship between minority stress and sleep, targeted anxiety-based interventions have the potential to reduce sleep disturbance disparities between heterosexual and sexual minority men.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

AnxietySexual MinoritySleep DisturbanceMinority Stress
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S807 - S808
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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