Discrimination, Mental Health, and Suicidal Ideation among Sexual Minority Adults in Latin America: Considering the Roles of Social Support and Religiosity

Abstract

Despite the high rates of discrimination and mental health issues experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults at an international level, very little research has focused on this population in Latin America. As a result, the purpose of this study was to explore relationships among discrimination experiences, mental health (i.e., anxiety and depressive symptoms), suicidal ideation, religiosity, and social support in LGBT adults in Latin America. A sample of 99 participants from the region completed an online survey assessing these constructs. Results suggested that 51.5% of the sample reported lifetime suicidal ideation. Experiences with harassment/rejection-type discrimination predicted suicidal ideation, while work/school-type discrimination predicted mental health problems (anxiety and depression). Depressive symptoms predicted suicidal ideation, while anxiety symptoms alone did not. Further, depressive symptoms mediated relationships between work/school discrimination and suicidal ideation, as well as between harassment/rejection discrimination and suicidal ideation. Moderated mediation analyses suggested that high, but not low or moderate levels of social support and religiosity buffered LGBT adults in Latin America against discrimination, specifically by weakening links among discrimination, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Clinical intervention research with LGBT adults in Latin America should focus on increasing social support networks for this population and on helping LGBT adults reconcile conflicts between religious identities and sexual or gender minority identities, as healthy religiosity may serve as a protective factor against mental health problems generally, and suicidal ideation specifically.