The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43212

Christina E. Nellos, BS¹, Susan D. Cochran, PhD, MS¹, and Vickie M. Mays, PhD, MSPH². (1) Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health, 650 Charles Young Drive, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, (310) 280-9072, cnellos@ucla.edu, (2) Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563

Recent epidemiologic findings from population-based surveys indicate that lesbians, gay men and bisexual individuals may be at increased risk for psychiatric morbidity presumably as a function of widespread anti-homosexual stigma and discrimination. Very little of this work, however, has focused on the question of whether or not those of minority sexual orientation evidence resiliency in the face of this social discrimination. Furthermore, societal attitudes toward homosexuality have undergone profound changes over the last two decades, in some instances becoming more tolerant. To what extent these social changes, as well as the HIV epidemic, may have affected the overall general well being of lesbians, gay men, and bisexual individuals is not known. We use information collected over a 12-year period (1988-2000) in the General Social Survey, a representative biennial, previously annual, survey of the American population, to examine trends in self-evaluated happiness among individuals who differ in their self-reported patterns of sexual partner genders. We observed among women that those who were homosexually experienced reported equivalent levels of life satisfaction as those who indicated exclusively heterosexual histories. In contrast, among men, homosexually experienced men surveyed in 1988-1993 evidenced lower levels of happiness than heterosexually classified men surveyed during the same time period. In following years, levels of happiness among the two groups converged. Our findings are consistent with a transient harmful effect of the HIV epidemic on gay men's life satisfaction. Overall, however, levels of happiness do not at present appear to differ as a function of sexual orientation.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe longitudinal trends of levels of self-reported life satisfaction among homosexually and heterosexually experienced individuals.
• Identify how these patterns are associated with social factors such as changes in societal acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals as well as community stressors such as the HIV epidemic.
• Recognize the importance of assessing indicators of resiliency as it relates to the general well-being of those with minority sexual orientation.

Keywords: Gay Men, Lesbian

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.