The mental health and experiences of discrimination of LGBTQ+ people during the COVID-19 pandemic: Initial findings from the Queerantine Study

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveTo assess mental health status and experiences of discrimination amongst a sample of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer people (LGBTQ+, the “plus” including those who don’t identify with any such label) during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignCross-sectional web-based survey.SettingResponses were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic between April 27thand July 13th.Participants398 LGBTQ+ respondents forming an analytical sample of 310 in the main models.MethodsWe used a combined measure of gender identity or expression and sexual orientation as the main explanatory variable. We assessed mental health with the 4-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), and with the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D-10). We measured experiences of discrimination with a battery of questions that asked respondents whether they had experienced a set of discriminatory experiences because of their LGBTQ+ identity during the coronavirus pandemic. Experiences of discrimination was considered a mediating factor and examined both as an outcome as well as an explanatory variable. Models were adjusted for a range of demographic and socioeconomic variables.ResultsThe prevalence of depression and stress were both high, with the majority of the sample exhibiting significant depressive symptomology (69%). Around one-in-six respondents reported some form of discrimination since the start of the pandemic because they were LGBTQ+ (16.7%). In regression models, the average score for perceived stress increased by 1.44 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.517-2.354) for those who had experienced an instance of homophobic or transphobic harassment, compared to respondents who had not. Similarly, the odds of exhibiting significant depressive symptomology (CES-D-10 scores of 10 or more) increased three-fold among those who had experienced harassment based on their gender or sexuality compared to those who had not (OR: 3.251; 95% CI: 1.168-9.052). These marked associations remained after adjustment for a number of socioeconomic and demographic covariates. Cis-female respondents who identify as gay or lesbian had the lowest scores for perceived social or depressive symptoms; conversely transgender and gender diverse individuals had the highest scores.ConclusionsWe found high levels of stress and depressive symptoms, particularly among younger and transgender and gender diverse respondents. These associations were partially explained by experiences of discrimination which had a large, consistent and pernicious impact on stress and mental health.