PSYCHOSOCIAL AND PSYCHIATRIC CHARACTERISTICS AMONG CROATIAN LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL POPULATION

Abstract

Since there is scarcity of psychological research on lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons (LGB) in Croatia, we aimed to collect first information about the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, psychosocial characteristics and factors related to those issues in LGB adults living there. We focused on bulimia nervosa, binge eating, alcohol abuse, major depressive disorder, other depressive syndromes, panic syndrome, and other anxiety syndromes and somatoform syndrome. Psychosocial information was also gathered and included details about abuse, being out, sexually risky behavior, employment, education, socio-economic status, relationships status and sociodemographic characteristics. According to research, 39% of LGB persons were unemployed and 52.2% were abused. Alcohol abuse is high among all subgroups. Women are prone to somatoform symptoms and alcohol abuse. Since there is insufficient research on the problems of Croatian LGB persons, our results show that there is a real need for regular screening for psychopathology in Croatian homosexual and bisexual persons and for preventive interventions. Keywords: LGBT, mental health, prevalence, psychopathology, assessment, psychiatric disorders, psychosocial problems