First comes marriage, then comes the election: Macro-level event impacts on African-American, Latina/x, and White sexual minority women

Loneliness across time and space

People feel lonely when their social needs are not met by the quantity and quality of their social relationships. Most research has focused on individual-level predictors of loneliness. However, macro-level factors related to historical time and geographic space might influence loneliness through their effects on individual-level predictors. In this Review, we summarize empirical findings on differences in the prevalence of loneliness across historical time and geographical space and discuss four groups of macro-level factors that might account for these differences: values and norms, family and social lives, technology and digitalization, and living conditions and availability of individual resources. Regarding historical time, media reports convey that loneliness is on the rise, but the empirical evidence is mixed, at least before the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding geographical space, national differences in loneliness are linked to differences in cultural values (such as individualism) but might also be due to differences in the sociodemographic composition of the population. Research on within-country differences in loneliness is scarce but suggests an influence of neighbourhood characteristics. We conclude that a more nuanced understanding of the effects of macro-level factors on loneliness is necessary because of their relevance for public policy and propose specific directions for future research.

“In the Voices of People Like Me”: LGBTQ Coping During Trump’s Administration

The present study explored strategies that LGBTQ people used to cope during the U.S. presidential administration of Donald Trump. Coping strategies can buffer the impact of identity-related stigma and decreased psychological well-being, however, little is known about the ongoing coping strategies used by LGBTQ people during Trump’s presidential administration. This research addresses this gap in the literature. Participants included 335 LGBTQ individuals who were negatively impacted by the discriminatory policies of the Trump administration. Participants completed an online survey where they discussed the coping strategies they used during the Trump administration. Thematic analysis revealed five coping-related themes, including: (a) Coping Through Connecting With People, (b) Coping Through Self-Care and Self-Preservation Activities, (c) Coping Through Relational Disengagement, (d) Coping Through Activism, and (e) Coping Through Outness Decisions. Our discussion explores how counseling psychologists can work with LGBTQ clients to maximize coping strategies for managing distress during anti-LGBTQ presidential administrations.

Mental Health Among Black and Latinx Sexual Minority Adults Leading Up to and Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: Results from a Natural Experiment

Purpose: Multi-level hostility toward sexual minority (SM; includes, but is not limited to those identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, or same-gender loving) and other minority populations (e.g., racial/ethnic) increased after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This may generate stress and mental health problems among those groups, and particularly among SM people of color. This study assessed whether the mental health of Black and Latinx SM adults declined after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Methods: Data were from a daily national probability survey (thus, mean changes in mental health outcomes over time may reflect population shifts in mental health) of Black and Latinx SM adults (N = 537), recruited 7 months before and 17 months after the November 8, 2016 election. Using a between-subjects design, spline-based regressions (spline set at election date), adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, estimated four mental health outcomes (past-month number of "poor mental health" days and psychological distress, past-year suicidal ideation, and social wellbeing) as a function of survey completion date. Results: There was marked worsening in each of the mental health outcomes over the postelection period (past-month poor mental health days, B = 0.05, standard error [SE] = 0.02, p < 0.05; psychological distress, B = 0.28, SE = 0.14, p < 0.05; suicidal ideation, odds ratio = 1.13, 95% confidence interval >1.00-1.26, p < 0.05; and social wellbeing, B = -0.05, SE = 0.02, p < 0.05). None of the outcomes varied over the pre-election period. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of worsening mental health among Black and Latinx SM adults in the United States during the 1.5 years after the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Alcohol use among sexual minority women: Methods used and lessons learned in the 20-Year Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women Study

Background

Two decades ago, there was almost no research on alcohol use among sexual minority women (SMW, e.g., lesbian, bisexual). Since then, a growing body of scientific literature documents substantial sexual orientation-related disparities in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Research has identified multiple risk factors associated with high-risk/hazardous drinking among SMW. However, this research has almost exclusively used cross-sectional designs, limiting the ability to draw conclusions about processes through which sexual minority status affects alcohol use. Longitudinal designs, although very rare in research on alcohol use among SMW, are important for testing mediational mechanisms and necessary to understanding how changes in social determinants impact alcohol use.

Aim

To describe the processes and lessons learned in conducting a 20-year longitudinal study focused on alcohol use among SMW.

Methods

The Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study includes five waves of data collection (2000-present) with an age and racially/ethnically diverse sample of 815 SMW (ages 18-83) originally recruited in the Chicago Metropolitan Area in Illinois, a midwestern state in the United States (U.S.). Measures and focus have evolved over the course of the study.

Results

The CHLEW study is the longest-running and most comprehensive study of SMW's drinking in the U.S. or elsewhere. Findings reported in more than 50 published manuscripts have contributed to understanding variations in SMW's risk for hazardous/harmful drinking based on sexual identity, age, race/ethnicity, sex/gender of partner, and many other factors.

Conclusions

By describing the process used in conducting this long-term study, its major findings, and the lessons learned, we hope to encourage and support other researchers in conducting longitudinal research focused on SMW's health. Such research is critically important in understanding and ultimately eliminating sexual orientation-related health disparities.

Mortality risk among a sample of sexual minority women: A focus on the role of sexual identity disclosure

Almost no research has examined factors that contribute to mortality risk among sexual minority women (SMW). This study capitalizes on a 21-year community-based longitudinal study of SMW to examine the association between sexual identity disclosure and mortality risk. Forty-nine SMW who were recruited in 2000-01 or 2010-12 (6.3% of the sample), were confirmed dead by 2019. The mean age at death was 56.5 years. We used Cox proportional hazard models to show that SMW who had disclosed their sexual identity to 100% of their immediate family members had a 70% reduction in the risk of mortality compared to SMW who disclosed to less than 33% of their immediate family, after adjusting for several sociodemographic and health variables. Our results suggest that facilitating acceptance of SMW and their ability to disclose their identity may be an important way to improve health and life expectancy among SMW.