Heterosexist Discrimination and Substance Use in Young Adult Sexual Minority Men: Examining the Moderating Role of Mindfulness.

Abstract

Purpose: Young sexual minority adults experience high rates of heterosexist discrimination. The use of substances has been documented as a form of coping with discrimination. While mindfulness has been used to address experiences of discrimination and the use of substances, respectively, few studies have explored whether mindfulness can lower the negative effects of discrimination on substance use. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between heterosexist discrimination and substance use in young adult sexual minority men (YASMM), and if dispositional mindfulness can moderate this relationship.

Methods: Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of heterosexist discrimination and cigarette, e-cigarette, and hazardous drinking in a sample of YASMM (18-35 years old; n = 325) from a national survey. A two-way interaction analysis was also implemented to evaluate if dispositional mindfulness moderated this relationship.

Results: Heterosexist discrimination was associated with increased odds of cigarette use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03, 1.08) and e-cigarette use (aOR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.05). Higher scores of dispositional mindfulness moderated the relationship between heterosexist discrimination and hazardous drinking, indicating a weakening effect with higher scores of dispositional mindfulness.

Conclusion: Mindfulness may decrease the negative effects of heterosexist discrimination on hazardous drinking among YASMM.Health Equity Implications: Researchers and practitioners should consider incorporating mindfulness as a component to their intervention to help YASMM deal with stressors engendered by discrimination, which may prevent hazardous drinking as a coping mechanism at a younger age.