1. Psychological Well-Being of Sexual Minority Young Adults in Iceland: Assessing Differences by Sexual Attraction and Gender
- Author
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Bjarki Gronfeldt, Alfgeir L. Kristjansson, Inga Dora Sigfusdottir, Berglind Gisladottir, Kennaradeild (HÍ), Faculty of Teacher Education (UI), Menntavísindasvið (HÍ), School of Education (UI), Viðskiptadeild (HR), School of Business (RU), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland, Háskólinn í Reykjavík, Reykjavik University, School of education (UI), West Virginia University, and Columbia University
- Subjects
Sexual minority ,Tvíkynhneigð ,Social Psychology ,Mental well-being ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Anger ,Developmental psychology ,Gender Studies ,03 medical and health sciences ,Depressed mood ,Developmental and Educational Psychology ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Young adult ,Þunglyndi ,media_common ,030505 public health ,Geðheilsa ,Sexual attraction ,05 social sciences ,Streita ,Gender ,Perceived stress ,Minnihlutahópar ,Ungt fólk ,Attraction ,Psychological well-being ,Population data ,Bisexuality ,Kyngervi ,0305 other medical science ,Psychology ,050104 developmental & child psychology ,Clinical psychology ,Young adults - Abstract
Töflur eru aftast í skjalinu, The literature on sexual minority adolescents and young adults has highlighted a poor mental status among those groups compared to their heterosexual peers. Sexual minorities are also more likely to experience stress factors such as bullying and physical violence. However, sexual minority young adults have not been studied much in Iceland, a Nordic country renowned for a high degree of sexual equality. Given what the literature has shown to date, a noteworthy question is whether patterns of mental well-being of sexual minority adolescents and young adults in Iceland are comparable to other countries. The aim of the present study was to provide an assessment of mental well-being in sexual minority young adults in Iceland. We used population data to examine a selection of mental well-being indicators in 16–20 year-olds, both-sex-attracted and same-sex-attracted participants, and compared them to other-sex-attracted peers. Findings indicated that sexual minority young adults exhibited significantly greater levels of depressed mood, anger, and perceived stress than other-sex-attracted young adults. However, when stratified by gender and sexual attraction pattern, the analyses revealed that both-sex-attracted young women scored significantly higher on all indicators than any other group. We conclude that studies in this area should strive to distinguish between same-sex and both-sex attraction as well as to stratify analyses by gender. The well-being of both-sex-attracted young women is a compelling topic for future research.
- Published
- 2017