Developing the LGBT Minority Stress Measure

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals face significant mental and physical health disparities compared to their heterosexual peers. Such differential outcomes are often attributed to minority stress, chronic stress that is specific to one’s marginalized status and which is distinct from normal every day life stress. Current research, which attempts to assess the relationship between minority stress and health, is stifled by lack of a uniform measurement tool to operationalize the construct. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive tool that encapsulates all of the major dimensions of minority stress, as defined by Meyer’s (2003) LGB minority stress model. The final LGBT Minority Stress Measure is a 25-item self-report scale, with seven subscales: identity concealment, everyday discrimination/ microaggressions, rejection anticipation, discrimination events, internalized stigma, victimization events, and community connectedness. Results from 640 participants, including 119 of which identified as gender non-conforming, supported the psychometric properties of the scale. Additionally, consistent with existing literature, greater minority stress was associated with increased psychological distress.