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LGBT trauma is the distress an individual experiences due to being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer person or from possessing another minoritized sexual or gender identity. This distress can be harmful to the individual and predispose them to trauma- and stressor-related disorders. [1]
Academic research implies that sexual and gender minorities are exposed to a heightened number of trauma-related stressors. [2] [3] [4] These traumatic experiences appear to be related to reports from clinicians and epidemiological data from research that LGBTQ+ individuals generally deal with higher levels of interpersonal victimization that have the potential to prove traumatizing. [1] These interpersonal traumas are often experienced by a large portion of sexual and gender minorities. When comparing heterosexual siblings to their same-sex lesbian, gay, or bisexual siblings, it was found that the sexual minority sibling was victimized at a higher rate across each of the types of interpersonal violence. This included partner violence and both childhood and adult physical and sexual assault. [5] Furthermore, it has been found that 54.8% of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals experience childhood abuse compared to 19.5% of cisgender individuals surveyed. [6] One review that looked at the rates of sexual assault amongst sexual minorities found that up to 54% of men that identify as gay or bisexual and up to 85% of women who identify as either a lesbian or bisexual have endured some level of sexual assault. [7]
Researchers have found essential cultural considerations when attempting to determine whether an LGBTQ+-identified individual has experienced trauma. The method of asking an individual about trauma can decide whether or not they report their experiences accurately. In one study of sexually minoritized men who reported enduring childhood experiences that are typically defined as abusive, only 54% of those men agreed with the statement “I was physically abused." [8] This shows that people will often experience trauma but not mentally recognize it. What was further found was that regardless of whether the men recognized what they experienced was abuse or not, they shared the same rate of mental health problems. This phenomenon implies that the experience of abuse and not the recognition of something being abusive is what leads to poorer mental health outcomes. Considering the above helps inform why it is essential to ask individuals specific questions about experiences they have had or behaviors of those around them when assessing for abusive experiences, instead of relying upon the person's perception or opinion exclusively. This method is critical when working with sexual or gender minority individuals. The shame and stigma around their experience can make them avoid conceptualizing what they went through as abuse. [1]
Mental health professionals find it essential to identify trauma responses in their clients because ignoring or overlooking trauma can lead to a misdiagnosis or ineffective treatment approach. Furthermore, some recommend that if the trauma is to the level of the individual having PTSD, that the PTSD should be prioritized in therapy. The idea is that even if an LGBTQ+-identified individual comes in for concerns related to gender, sexuality, depression, or anxiety that PTSD results in such acute distress that any work on other areas would be ineffective. [1] Furthermore, PTSD can be the source of some of the symptoms the client is experiencing. Thus if they come in for depression and have PTSD, treating the PTSD may solve both problems, whereas only treating the depression may solve neither mental health concern. [9]
Some people fear talking to LGBTQ+ people about their traumatic experiences, often fearing that discussing what someone endured will somehow worsen the trauma. However, people who have been traumatized or have diagnosable PTSD can spend a lot of time thinking about their traumas. Thus, it has been found that many of those individuals find relief when talking about their experiences, particularly in a therapeutic setting with a mental health professional. [1] Multiple studies have shown that it is beneficial when a therapist takes the time to explore a client's prior experiences of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. [10] [11]
One of the ways to explore an individual's traumatic experience is for mental health professionals to ask their client to describe the traumatic event they experienced while including as many details they can recall as possible (i.e., physical sensations, emotions experienced, and thoughts they had at the time). Researchers have found that in doing this, clients feel less shame surrounding the experience and report having more insight into the experience. [12]
Due to the high rates of various trauma types, gender, and sexual minority people endure, it is recommended[ by whom? ] that mental health professionals ask directly about exposure to events that could be considered traumatic and the client's conceptualization of those experiences. [1] The heightened level of discrimination and victimization LGBTQ+ folks experience is theorized to increase a person's susceptibility to trauma responses and exacerbate symptoms compared to the general population. To not influence their responses, therapists are advised to ask broad and open-ended questions to understand better how the client views their experience. Understanding a client's conceptualization of their experience helps the clinician avoid underestimating or overestimating a client's distress related to their sexual and gender minority status. Both making a person's gender or sexuality central to their trauma treatment when it is irrelevant to them or ignoring it when they view it as central to their trauma are considered problematic approaches that invalidate the client's thoughts and experiences. [1]
Some mental health professionals[ which? ] think that the DSM-5's inclusion of reckless or self-destructive behaviors can help provide context for some traits seen in sexual and gender minority populations. Specifically, it may help explain the high rate of sexual risk-taking and substance use amongst LGBTQ+ people. Studies have shown that men with a history of sexual abuse in childhood are more likely to report substance abuse, depression, and engagement in unprotected sex. [13] Research on sexual minority men and trans women has shown a relationship between sexual risk-taking and psychosocial difficulties. [14] The above trends lead some psychologists to endorse what is called a syndemic framework, “whereby co-occurring psychosocial problems common among sexual minority and transgender and gender nonconforming individuals produce an adverse synergistic effect on health. [15]
Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to social gender expectations. It is often expressed alongside homophobic views and hence is often considered an aspect of homophobia. Transphobia is a type of prejudice and discrimination, similar to racism and sexism, and transgender people of color are often subjected to all three forms of discrimination at once.
Gender is correlated with the prevalence of certain mental disorders, including depression, anxiety and somatic complaints. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with major depression, while men are more likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse and antisocial personality disorder. There are no marked gender differences in the diagnosis rates of disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Men are at risk to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to past violent experiences such as accidents, wars and witnessing death, and women are diagnosed with PTSD at higher rates due to experiences with sexual assault, rape and child sexual abuse. Nonbinary or genderqueer identification describes people who do not identify as either male or female. People who identify as nonbinary or gender queer show increased risk for depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. People who identify as transgender demonstrate increased risk for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The questioning of one's sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender, or all three is a process of exploration by people who may be unsure, still exploring, or concerned about applying a social label to themselves for various reasons. The letter "Q" is sometimes added to the end of the acronym LGBT ; the "Q" can refer to either queer or questioning.
As defined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, military sexual trauma (MST) are experiences of sexual assault, or repeated threatening sexual harassment that occurred while a person was in the United States Armed Forces.
Various topics in medicine relate to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. According to the US Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), besides HIV/AIDS, issues related to LGBT health include breast and cervical cancer, hepatitis, mental health, substance use disorders, alcohol use, tobacco use, depression, access to care for transgender persons, issues surrounding marriage and family recognition, conversion therapy, refusal clause legislation, and laws that are intended to "immunize health care professionals from liability for discriminating against persons of whom they disapprove."
Research has found that attempted suicide rates and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) youth are significantly higher than among the general population.
Victimization refers to a person being made into a victim by someone else and can take on psychological as well as physical forms, both of which are damaging to victims. Forms of victimization include bullying or peer victimization, physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, robbery, and assault. Some of these forms of victimization are commonly associated with certain populations, but they can happen to others as well. For example, bullying or peer victimization is most commonly studied in children and adolescents but also takes place between adults. Although anyone may be victimized, particular groups may be more susceptible to certain types of victimization and as a result to the symptoms and consequences that follow. Individuals respond to victimization in a wide variety of ways, so noticeable symptoms of victimization will vary from person to person. These symptoms may take on several different forms, be associated with specific forms of victimization, and be moderated by individual characteristics of the victim and/or experiences after victimization.
Sexual bullying is a form of bullying or harassment in connection with a person's sex, body, sexual orientation or with sexual activity. It can be physical, verbal or emotional in nature, and occurs in various settings, including schools, workplaces, and online platforms. Sexual bullying can have serious and lasting effects on the mental and emotional well-being of victims.
Minority stress describes high levels of stress faced by members of stigmatized minority groups. It may be caused by a number of factors, including poor social support and low socioeconomic status; well understood causes of minority stress are interpersonal prejudice and discrimination. Indeed, numerous scientific studies have shown that when minority individuals experience a high degree of prejudice, this can cause stress responses that accrue over time, eventually leading to poor mental and physical health. Minority stress theory summarizes these scientific studies to explain how difficult social situations lead to chronic stress and poor health among minority individuals.
People in prison are more likely than the general United States population to have received a mental disorder diagnosis, and women in prison have higher rates of mental illness and mental health treatment than do men in prison. Furthermore, women in prisons are three times more likely than the general population to report poor physical and mental health. Women are the fastest growing demographic of the United States prison population. As of 2019, there are about 222,500 women incarcerated in state and federal prisons in the United States. Women comprise roughly 8% of all inmates in the United States.
Domestic violence in same-sex relationships is a pattern of violence or abuse that occurs within same-sex relationships. Domestic violence is an issue that affects people of any sexuality, but there are issues that affect victims of same-sex domestic violence specifically. These issues include homophobia, internalized homophobia, HIV and AIDS stigma, STD risk and other health issues, lack of legal support, and the violence they face being considered less serious than heterosexual domestic violence. Moreover, the issue of domestic violence in same-sex relationships has not been studied as comprehensively as domestic violence in heterosexual relationships. However, there are legal changes being made to help victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships, as well as organizations that cater specifically to victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships.
LGBT psychology is a field of psychology of surrounding the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, in the particular the diverse range of psychological perspectives and experiences of these individuals. It covers different aspects such as identity development including the coming out process, parenting and family practices and support for LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as issues of prejudice and discrimination involving the LGBT community.
Sexual assault of LGBT people, also known as sexual and gender minorities (SGM), is a form of violence that occurs within the LGBT community. While sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence can occur in all forms of relationships, it is found that sexual minorities experience it at rates that are equal to or higher than their heterosexual counterparts. There is a lack of research on this specific problem for the LGBT population as a whole, but there does exist a substantial amount of research on college LGBT students who have experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment.
"Suicidal ideation" or suicidal thoughts are the precursors of suicide, which is the leading cause of death among youth. Ideation or suicidal thoughts are categorized as: considering, seriously considering, planning, or attempting suicide and youth is typically categorized as individuals below the age of 25. Various research studies show an increased likelihood of suicide ideation in youth in the LGBT community.
This article addresses victimization of bisexual women. Victimization is any damage or harm inflicted by one individual onto another. In the United States, bisexual women are more prone to various types of victization, for example, they experience childhood sexual abuse at rates 5.3 times higher than heterosexual women.
Sexual trauma therapy is medical and psychological interventions provided to survivors of sexual violence aiming to treat their physical injuries and cope with mental trauma caused by the event. Examples of sexual violence include any acts of unwanted sexual actions like sexual harassment, groping, rape, and circulation of sexual content without consent.
Secondary victimisation refers to further victim-blaming from criminal justice authorities following a report of an original victimisation.
Interpersonal trauma is psychological trauma as a result of interactions between people. It can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Chronic, sustained interpersonal trauma can result in complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which has both symptoms of PTSD and also problems in developmental areas such as emotional self-regulation and interpersonal functioning. More than half of the incidents causing interpersonal trauma happen to children and teenagers.
Trauma- and violence-informed care (TVIC) describes a framework for working with and relating to people who have experienced negative consequences after exposure to dangerous experiences. There is no one single TVIC framework, or model, and some go by slightly different names, including Trauma Informed Care (TIC). They incorporate a number of perspectives, principles and skills. TVIC frameworks can be applied in many contexts including medicine, mental health, law, education, architecture, addiction, gender, culture, and interpersonal relationships. They can be applied by individuals and organizations.
People who are LGBT are significantly more likely than those who are not to experience depression, PTSD, and generalized anxiety disorder.
