Sexual identity stress may damage the well-being of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, but limited research has examined the potential protective factors in this context.

The gap

Consensus across the literature

Supporting evidence — 5 representative gaps

• Psychosocial burden of discrimination based on sexual orientation in university students—A cross-sectional analysis (2026) · doi

  would benefit from distinguishing between the diverse sexual orientations and identities within the queer community to better understand the specific experiences and impacts of discrimination across different groups and their intersections. Additionally, the study did not assess the frequency, duration, or severity of discrimination experiences, all of which could influence mental health outcomes (58). Moreover, due to the cross-sectional design of the study, causal relationships cannot be established. Mental health outcomes were measured using screening tools rather than clinical diagnoses. While self-reported data may be subject to recall bias or social desirability bias, it simultaneously offers the advantage of providing a broad overview of the student cohort’s experiences and mental health status.

  Keywords: experiences mental health discrimination outcomes bias bene distinguishing diverse sexual orientations identities within queer community
• Psychosocial burden of discrimination based on sexual orientation in university students—A cross-sectional analysis (2026) · doi

  A key limitation of this study is that sexual orientation data were not collected. Instead, participants only indicated whether they had experienced discrimination based on their sexual orientation. Consequently, the pronounced effects observed in the study may partly reflect an unclear differentiation of how many students with various sexual minority identities were actually subject to discrimination. Furthermore, it is possible that discriminatory experiences reported in this study also included those of heterosexual individuals, as discrimination due to sexual orientation was assessed without recording participants’ sexual orientation. However, the survey question regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation explicitly named examples such as “gay” or “lesbian” rendering it highly unlikely that heterosexual participants felt addressed or reported such experiences. Consistent with the minority stress theory proposed by Meyer et al. (20), we focused on perceived discrimination based on sexual orientation as the primary exposure rather than on sexual identity labels, in order to underscore the specific impact of discriminatory experiences on mental health. Nevertheless, future research would benefit from distinguishing between the diverse sexual orientations and identities within the queer community to better understand the specific experiences and impacts of discrimination across different groups and their intersections. Additionally, the study did not assess the frequency, duration, or severity of discrimination experiences, all of which could influence mental health outcomes (58). Moreover, due to the cross-sectional design of the study, causal relationships cannot be established. Mental health outcomes were measured using screening tools rather than clinical diagnoses. While self-reported data may be subject to recall bias or social desirability bias, it simultaneously offers the advantage of providing a broad overview of the student cohort’s experiences and mental health status.

  Keywords: sexual discrimination orientation experiences mental health participants based reported minority identities subject discriminatory heterosexual rather
• The impact of psychological flexibility on sexual identity stress and well-being among lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. (2021) · doi

  Sexual identity stress may damage the well-being of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, but limited research has examined the potential protective factors in this context.

  Keywords: sexual identity stress damage well lesbian bisexual individuals limited examined potential protective factors context
• Integrating the Neurobiology of Minority Stress with an Intersectionality Framework for LGBTQ-Latinx Populations (2018) · doi

  Thus, it remains unclear how LGBTQ people of color internalize and navigate multiple cultural, institutional, and societal stressors, and, furthermore, how these sources of stress may affect health and well-being.

  Keywords: thus remains unclear lgbtq people color internalize navigate multiple cultural institutional societal stressors sources stress
• The Roles of Identity Centrality and Affirmation in the Associations Between Discrimination and Mental Health Among Bi+ Adults (2024) · doi

  Minority stress theory posits that associations between discrimination and adverse mental health outcomes may be stronger for those with higher identity centrality and lower identity affirmation, but few studies have tested these hypotheses.

  Keywords: identity minority stress theory posits associations discrimination adverse mental health outcomes stronger higher centrality lower