I Am Because We Are: In-Group Identification and Perceived Social Support as a Social Cure for Sexual Minorities, A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Abstract

A growing body of research shows that social identities have a profound impact on health-related outcomes. However, the relationships between identity and health are complex and may be complicated by stigmatization and the social-cultural context. This is the case for sexual minorities, where on one hand their identity can lead to adverse mental health outcomes but on the other, they can unlock psychological resources. The present research examines if an LGBT+ identity can provide a “social cure” to buffer the effects of perceived discrimination against the psychological health of sexual minorities by exploring how (1) ingroup identification and perceived social support from the LGBT+ community may mediate this relationship, and (2) these relationships differ across collectivistic and individualistic societies. Participants (n = 441) from collectivistic (the Dominican Republic and Portugal) and individualistic (the United States of America, the Republic of Ireland) countries completed measures of perceived discrimination, LGBT+ in-group identification, LGBT+ perceived social support and psychological health. Serial mediation analysis indicated that the negative relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological health mediated by in-group identification and perceived social support from the LGBT+ community. Subsequent analysis revealed that there was evidence of a combined mediation effect on the collectivistic sample but not in the individualistic one. Findings revealed that the social identity processes in sexual minority individuals may buffer the effects of perceived discrimination through their LGBT+ identity, and the cultural context may influence how sexual minorities relate to the LGBT+ community.