Young sexual minority men face higher rates of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use compared with their heterosexual peers, according to Rutgers Health researchers. In their study, published in the journal Youth, the researchers found discrimination, internalized homophobia and perceived stress are significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes and increased substance use.
“Discrimination had the largest impact on the severity of all mental health outcomes,” said Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health and senior author of the study. “This may be because of the external nature of discrimination, which is less controllable by the individual compared to the other, more internal-facing stressors.”
Drawing on data collected over 36 months from 528 young sexual minority men ages 22 to 23 in New York City, researchers found perceived stress consistently increased the frequency of alcohol intoxication, club drug use and poly club drug use—defined as the concurrent use of two or more psychoactive substances. Additionally, they found that depression and PTSD severity are strong predictors of more frequent club and poly club drug use. To read the full story.