Minority stress among homosexual and bisexual individuals – from theoretical concepts to research tools: The Sexual Minority Stress Scale

Aim of the studyMinority stress is a relatively new concept which has emerged from the earlier concept of stress. It’s popularity among researchers who are interested in minority groups is increasing. Minority stress refers to the consequences of the stigma, rejection, and violence of the majority of society as experienced by the minority. The concept can be operationalised in different ways. The first is via a questionnaire, an example of which is presented in the current article: the Sexual Minority Stress Scale (SMSS). It refers to a clearly defined concept of minority stress, and uses some indicators to of stressSubject or material and methodsThis research tool was translated and adapted to fit the Polish case. This paper presents the results of statistical analysis based on answers of 206 individuals describing themselves as homosexual and 62 describing themselves as bisexual.ResultsHigh psychometric results of the questionnaire were obtained.DiscussionHigh psychometric results of the questionnaire indicate that the SMSS can be used in research on minority stress in bisexual and homosexual individuals.ConclusionsHowever, further research is required to verify its usefulness in the clinical setting as a screening tool to diagnose those who may be at risk from high levels of minority stress.