Does LGBTQ+ Community Connectedness Buffer Discrimination's Indirect Effect on Generalized Anxiety Through Rejection Sensitivity in LGBTQ+ U.S. Adults?

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other (LGBTQ+) persons with marginalized sexual-orientation identities are at risk of worse mental health relative to their heterosexual peers as a result of greater distal stressors faced by this community. The elevated prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder is one example of this health disparity. Informed by the theories of minority stress, rejection sensitivity, and stress buffering, we tested LGBTQ+-related rejection sensitivity as a potential mechanism and LGBTQ+ community connectedness as a potential protective factor in the effect of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination on generalized anxiety in LGBTQ+ people. Using survey data from adult U.S. participants with diverse sexual-orientation identities, gender identities, and geographic locations (N = 461), we found that LGBTQ+-related rejection sensitivity mediates the indirect effect of experiences with anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination on generalized anxiety. We found that this indirect effect occurred contextually, primarily in persons who had low to moderate, but not high, LGBTQ+ community connectedness. In exploratory analyses, the results remained substantially unchanged when controlling for age, sexual orientation identity, gender identity, and region. We conclude that LGBTQ+-related rejection sensitivity may partially explain, whereas LGBTQ+ community connectedness may buffer the effect of minority stress on generalized anxiety in LGBTQ+ people.